Everlasting
by 13Aphrodite
Summary: Only two years after the death of her father, Christine is a opera dancer in New York City... At least until an angel of music makes her music come alive. After a crime puts her at risk, her angel steals her away from the real world, forcing her to accept Erik for who he really is. Despite everything they go through, she will learn that only some things truly are everlasting.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I awoke early in the morning, eager to get to the opera house before anyone else did. I jumped out of bed, and hastily threw on a pair of yoga pants and a tank-top, quickly deciding that I would get ready at the theater when everyone else started arriving. I hastily pulled my long, curly, brown hair into a pony-tail as I grabbed my dance bag and locked the door behind me.

I had chosen this apartment after I got the job as one of the chorus/dancing girls at the London Opera House because of its close proximity to the theatre. It was a mere fifteen minute walk to the back door of the Opera Populaire.

I approached and fumbled with my key I had been given to get the door unlocked. I hastily entered and immediately ran for the stage.

It was a silly morning ritual I knew, but I had always been a dreamer, so the time I spent singing on stage every morning meant a lot to me. Ever since I had been hired at the prestigious opera house, I had dreamed of becoming the lead soprano… the Prima Donna. This why I dragged herself here every morning to simply sing on stage as I longed to do.

I gazed out into the empty opera house and then closed my eyes, imaging the audience.

"_Think of me, think of me fondly when we say goodbye."_

I sang out with as much passion as I could muster; my very soul pouring into the song. I sang for me, I sang for the sorrow I felt, but most of all I sang for my father as I always did.

"_Remember me, every so often, promise me you'll try._

_ On that day, that not so distant day_

_ When you are far away and free_

_ If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me."_

I danced about the stage, letting the music carry me away as it always seemed to do. When I finished the song on the last dramatic high note I bowed to my imaginary audience, envisioning what it would be like to have that many people clapping for you.

"Oh dad," I whispered, falling to my knees on the empty stage "If only you were here."

"Brava, brava, bravissimo_…" _A disembodied voice echoed throughout the theatre.

"What the Hell?!" I exclaimed, breaking out of my revelry and jumping to my feet. "Who's there?!"

_"_I am the angel of music_," _The voice answered cryptically.

"Yeah right," I scoffed. "Meg? Is that you? Ha ha, very funny…" I trailed off when I heard the voice speak again.

"Would you like some advice on how to make your song really take wing? You have much potential my dear…"

"Okay," I sighed, with a wave of my hand. "I'll play along… What's wrong with my singing?"

_"_There is nothing wrong with your singing," The voice began, sounding much more human. "You have one of the most soulful voices I have ever heard. It's beautiful."

"Oh, well thanks…" I mumbled and blushed at the compliment.

"It's the technical issues that you need to work on." The voice said sharply, losing the melodic tone and, although, it still had a melodic quality to it. "You don't sing out enough, when you sing, try focussing on making your sound hit the back end of the theatre. There's no point in having a beautiful voice if only the first fifteen rows can hear you."

"And what makes you an expert on this?" I said, slightly sarcastic, but yet honestly curious. Something had me intrigued about this voice.

"I am the angel of music," He stated simply. "Now sing."

_"Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade_

_They have their seasons, so do we_

_But please promise me that sometimes_

_You will think of me"_

I focussed all my thoughts towards sending my voice to the back of the large theatre, for some

reason eager to please this mysterious angel.

"Very good," the voice stated, surprise evident in his voice.

"You didn't expect me to be?" I asked honestly, a little hurt at his lack of faith in my voice… I shook my head quickly to expel that feeling. This was literally some random voice in the theatre, so I shouldn't care what it thought of me.

"You are a quick learner," He stated, " If you are willing, I would like to teach you how to use your voice properly. Christine Daae, would you like to become my student?"

"Ummm," I said in shock, rendered speechless by the sudden question.

"Every evening after your rehearsals you would come here, and I would teach you everything you need to know to become the great Prima Donna you desire… That is what you want isn't it?" He questioned sharply at the end.

"Yes," I whispered, then spoke louder. "Who are you?"

"There are a few conditions though," He continued as though he hadn't even heard her. "You must completely dedicate yourself to music, even if it means giving up some of your social life or other petty things. You will show me respect, and be willing to try things with your voice you never would have dreamed of. I will truly be your angel of music."

"Christine," He spoke softly and tenderly, a new emotion showing. "Let me make your song take wing."

"First off," I spoke quietly, moved by the passion in his voice. "I don't have money to pay you for voice lessons. Secondly, I'm a little unsure of why you would just show up and ask to give me music lessons when I haven't seen you in my life; and thirdly, who are you?"

"You ask too many questions," He said irritably, the tenderness disappearing abruptly. "But I shall answer them for you. First of all, money is not needed, I have all the money I need and require none from you. Second, as I said before, you have potential and I recognize a rising star when I see one. Third, I am, once again as I said before, your angel of music."

"Angel," I whispered, in awe. "May I ask you one thing before I give you your answer?"

"You may," He answered, "But I will not guarantee you an answer."

"You say you are an angel of music," I started, getting a little bit excited... If this were truly a trick by Meg or the other ballet girls, I would get them now. "If you are truly an angel of music, I would like to hear you sing."

"You want to hear me sing?" He asked, sounding mildly shocked.

"Yes," I smiled triumphantly, this would catch whoever Meg had asked to prank me.

Without even answering me first, he began to sing.

It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard in my life; more beautiful than the opera stars I listened to so much, more beautiful than my own voice, even more beautiful than my father's magical violin.

_"Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor,_

_Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender,_

_Turn your face away from the garish light of day_

_Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light_

_And listen to the music of the night."_

He only sang a few lines, but by the end I was completely and totally mesmerized. Those few lines managed to stir something deep within me that had been dormant since the death of my dad.

Those few lines were all it took to convince me that he truly was an angel of music. A single tear trailed down my cheek simply as a result of the pure passion of his music… If there was any chance he could make my voice sound like that, I wanted to be taught.

The more logical side of my mind argued with my much less rational heart. Even if angels did exist, they did not just go around teaching random girls how to sing… Plus I had never even seen him! For all I knew he could be some sexual predator looking for some innocent nineteen year-old to prey on…

But his voice…

If I had any common sense, I would leave right now and report this to the theatre managers… this was New York City for goodness sake! I should leave right now…

"Yes," The word escaped my lips before I even realized I had made up my mind.

"Yes," I repeated, stronger this time. "I will be your student… I accept."

"Very good," He said, a barely detectable note of relief in his voice. Most people wouldn't have noticed it, but I'd always been good at reading people. "Meet me here at precisely 8:00 tonight, and not a minute after. The alarm system will be disarmed."

"Okay," I said nervously, "Ummm, angel? I have to go get ready for rehearsals, so I was wondering if I could go now?"

"Of course my dear," He chuckled darkly as she left the room. "This opera needs you more than you know."

I entered the small bathroom attached to the group dressing room for the chorus and ballet girls and splashed cold water on my face.

What was I doing?

I had told some strange male voice that I was taking voice lessons from him… it? I didn't even know what it was.

_Your angel of music…_

My voice whispered in the back of my mind and I collapsed into a heap into the chair. I remembered his spectacular voice, and I started to believe that maybe he could be an angel of music.

Well, I guess there was only one way to find out…

There was no way I was missing those voice lessons.

Rehearsals seemed to drag by because of my impending voice lessons. Despite what I kept trying to tell myself about how it was "no big deal," I was honestly completely beside myself with excitement.

For the first time since my father died I felt true hope stirring inside me. Maybe my father had really sent this angel of music down from Heaven to me!

My excitement must have been obvious, because my best friend and roommate, Meg Giry, stopped me as we both left the theatre.

"I'm assuming you're going somewhere tonight." She stated bluntly as we walked the three blocks to the apartment.

"Why do you say that?" I questioned, trying to fake nonchalance.

She looked at me quizzically. "Chris, I've known you for years… I can tell you're excited about something. So what is it?"

"It's a secret," I said tauntingly, trying to convince her it wasn't that serious.

"Is it a boy?!" She exclaimed as we walked up the stairs of our building. "I bet it's a boy!"

"No," I said quickly as we began to travel upwards. "I would tell you if it was a boy."

"Fine then, don't tell me." She said with a sniff, feigning hurt. "It's not like I'm your best friend or anything…"

"Meg…" I sighed, but she just began to laugh.

"Just kidding," She giggled as we entered our small apartment, plopping herself down on the worn couch. "What time do you need to be there?"

"Eight," I said, glancing at the clock. It was seven thirty… I had just enough time to freshen up and then head back to the theatre.

I walked quickly to my room, brushing my curly hair and pulling it into a neat pony tail. I touched up my make-up by habit, since I realized the angel probably wouldn't really care what I looked like.

I stood in my room for a moment, unsure what to bring. After a minute I settled on only the necessities, and grabbed my small purse which contained my wallet and cell phone. I guess I was ready to go.

I hurried past Meg out the door, but not quite quick enough.

"Chris?" She called into the hallway, and I stopped short.

"Yes Meg?" I sighed without turning around.

"Please don't bring any boys back to the apartment!" She mock scolded, and I began to walk. Unfortunately, Meg wouldn't be thwarted and just yelled louder. "And if you decide to go somewhere, make him pay for a nice hotel; and just remember… Safe sex!"

I blushed furiously as I practically ran down the stairs, still hearing Meg's loud laughter from down the hall.

I hurried to the theatre, nearly running with excitement. I arrived at exactly 7:59, waited a moment until my phone's clock said it was 8:00, and went inside.

I walked out on the vast stage, glancing around for a sign of my angel. All of a sudden a single spotlight turned on, showing a small music stand with sheet music placed delicately on it.

I eagerly picked it up, seeing probably the hardest song I had yet to ever try.

"Are you kidding?" I asked sarcastically, "There's no way I can sing this!"

"There will be no doubting yourself Christine," My angel spoke harshly, his voice reverberating from the ceiling.

"Do you even know what song this is?" I continued, "_Memory _has only ever been sung by famous, seasoned performers… How can I even begin to measure up?"

"Find a way to connect yourself to the song." The voice commanded, and went silent for a moment.

I stood there in thought for a moment, staring at the lyrics and music.

"Now sing," The voice commanded softly, and piano music began in the background.

"_Midnight_

_Not a sound from the pavement_

_Has the moon lost her memory?_

_She is smiling alone_

_In the lamplight_

_The withered leaves collect at my feet_

_And the wind begins to moan" _I sang, thinking to push my voice to the back of the theatre as he had advised earlier.

"_Memory_

_All alone in the moonlight_

_I can smile at the old days_

_I was beautiful then_

_I remember the time I knew what happiness was_

_Let the memory live again" _I continued, and the piano abruptly stopped.

"Excellent Christine," He said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. I smiled as well, for some reason incredibly happy to have pleased this mysterious angel.

"Just a couple things to work on," He muttered, and began demandingly giving me instructions.

"Go from the second line of the chorus," He instructed, "You were flat. You can't let yourself fall too far on the lower portions."

I sang, falling too far again.

"No, no no!" He said in frustration. "Again!"

It took me four times to finally sing it correctly, he did little to praise me.

"About time," He grumbled, "Now your phrasing was off Christine; you can't take a breath until after 'I was beautiful then,' or else you destroy the melodic quality of the phrase."

"Seriously?" I began to protest, "I don't have the lung capacity to sing four lines without breathing!"

"Just try Christine!" He exclaimed, "I know these things can seem boring to your young mind, but I chose a particularly easy song so we could work on the technical issues in your voice."

"It's nothing to do with it being boring," I started arguing again, putting my hands on my hips. "It has something to do with the fact that I don't have the lung capacity to do it!"

"Sing!" He exclaimed, "From the beginning of the phrase."

"_Memory, all alone in the moonlight,_" I began to sing, taking as deep a breath I could as I started. _"I can smile at the old days,"_ My voice faltered as I ran out of air, forcing me to take a breath.

"No!" He yelled, stopping me instantly , "Again!"

It went this way for nearly four hours, me working on my phrasing in various parts of the music. I had to sing until I could sing the phrase without a breath, and then do it again for good measure. If I faltered, or hit a wrong note, I started the entire thing over again and had to face the discouraging anger of my angel.

By the end of four and a half hours my throat felt like it was on fire, having sung like it never had before. I discreetly brought my hand to my neck, rubbing it tenderly as if that would make the pain ease.

"Christine," My angel said sharply, and I dropped my hand immediately. He started again in a voice so gentle I could hardly believe it was the same person talking.

"Does your throat hurt?" He questioned tenderly,

"Yes," I nodded, my voice cracking.

"Perhaps it is time we call it a night," He sighed and I collected the music from the stand.

"Can I take this?" I whispered, somehow knowing he would hear me.

"Of course my dear," I turned and walked towards the door, but he called out before I could leave. "Oh Christine?"

I turned around slowly, half expecting someone to be in front of me.

"You did well," He started, and I grinned. "Your passion rivals any voice I have ever heard, and your voice truly is beautiful… If you listen to my instructions, your voice will truly be glorious."

"Thank you," I whispered, and turned and walked into the night.

**AN:**

I am super excited about this story! I already have a lot written, but I couldn't wait to start posting it Only one note so I don't get any criticism on it… I have absolutely no experience with opera, so I made the artistic choice to use soprano songs from musicals since I have a lot more experience with them. I know _Memory _doesn't have the technical complexity operas do, but it has been sung by a lot of famous, well-seasoned performers (Plus it's written by Andrew Lloyd Webber) so I thought it would fit

Please review


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 My Heart's Desire

**Erik's POV**

I had been watching the young prodigy for nearly six months before I decided to finally reveal myself to her under the disguise as her "Angel of Music." I chuckled to myself at this statement; what an ironic thing, to have a creature as dark and ugly as me posing as an angel of music… A genius, yes, but never an angel.

I found myself sitting at my organ, letting the harsh, angry and dark music flow through me onto the page. For the first time in nearly five years I was composing my beloved creation; my Don Juan Triumphant. The music that had laid dormant all of this time flowed out of me in a frenzy of passionate notes.

There was no doubt in my mind as to why I had started suddenly composing again… For the first time in perhaps my entire lifetime I had found pure inspiration, in the form of Christine Daae.

Her purity and innocence was like a bright beacon of light in my dark world. It wasn't that she was naïve-her life experiences had made sure of that- it was more like a child-like joy emanating from her very being.

And her song…

The music in her soul had a passion that rivaled even mine… And at only nineteen years old! Of course she had a lot to do to truly reach her potential, but with me teaching her it was only a matter of time.

This was why I had chosen to reveal myself to her after remaining removed from the world for so long. As her angel of music I could teach her, be near her and listen to her beautiful song take flight. Perhaps she would be my redemption after all these years, singlehandedly lifting me out of the darkness…

I chuckled darkly. A creature as hideous as me was far beyond redemption, even by a stunningly beautiful nineteen year old. In order to redeem me she would first have to know about why my world was so dark, and if there was any way I could help it that would never happen.

I pulled my hands off the keys and stood up from the bench, my sudden inspiration abruptly leaving me. I walked over to my writing desk, clenching my fists and placing them on my desk on either side of me.

I wanted to cry… I wanted so badly to cry, but it was as if I had lost the ability to. Emotions as simple as sorrow had long since left me, leaving only dark, powerful emotions behind; hatred, anger, self-loathing…

"AH!" I yelled out in anger, picking up one of my intricate candle-holders and launching it into the far wall. It shattered on impact, glass shooting out across my dark room.

"Damn it!" I yelled frantically running to my organ and pounding on the keys, music being the only emotional outlet I could still use.

_"Furtively, we'll scoff and quaff,_

_Stealing what in truth is mine,_

_When it's late and modesty starts to mellow with the wine!" _I exclaimed, singing as Don Juan until the late hours of the night.

No one would ever care for me, or want to share music to me. Even Christine only tolerated my presence since she believed I was an angel of music, sent from her deceased father. And after only having one lesson, who knew how long even that could last.

After all these years nothing had changed. Even after an attempt to leave my past behind me, I was still all alone, trapped in darkness. I needed to hear Christine… Needed her light and brightness. Without it I would surely go mad.

"Again!" I exclaimed, cutting Christine off yet again. It was only our third lesson and she was progressing remarkably, but the song lacked some of the passion she needed to bring, and she kept underestimating her lung capacity and breathing too early.

"I've sang it like fifteen times!" She yelled in frustration, "I'm sorry angel, but I can't do it!"

"Christine," I said harshly, "Have I not improved your voice already?"

"Well, yes…" She started, "But…"

"And have I not told you repeatedly not to say 'I can't' to anything I ask of you?"

"Yes…"

"Well then listen to me now Christine," I said, attempting to keep the frustration out of my voice. "You can do this… I know you have the capability. You just need to stop underestimating yourself and just sing! Think about something powerful, and let it give you inspiration!"

She appeared thoughtful for a moment, then sighed. "Okay, I'm ready to try again."

"From the beginning then." I commanded, starting up on my piano, the music echoing throughout the room.

"_There was a time when men were kind  
When their voices were soft  
And their words inviting_"She began, the words pouring out of her throat in a stream of passion. Something was different about the way she was singing it this time, and whatever it was had turned the song from extraordinary to simply glorious.

She sang to the very back of the room, her voice echoing throughout the empty theatre. She sounded on the verge of tears at time, and if I hadn't known her, I would have difficulty believing the situation she was describing had not actually happened to her.

"_I had a dream my life would be  
So different from this hell I'm living!  
So different now from what it seemed  
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed!" _She finished triumphantly, the words flowing effortlessly from her throat.

It was the first time anyone's song had truly moved me.

When she finished she smiled up at me and I stood for a moment in shock, wondering if she could somehow see me.

"How was that angel?" She grinned so beautifully, my heart nearly stopped in my chest.

"Christine," I breathed, struggling to get these strange emotions under control. "That was glorious."

"Thank you," she blushed as she so often did when I complimented her.

"What did you do differently this time?" I questioned curiously, and she blushed furiously, looking down at her feet. She squirmed a little onstage, turning her back to me.

"It doesn't matter," she mumbled, running her fingers through her hair with embarrassment. Instantly I was intensely curious… what had she been thinking of that had made her so embarrassed?

"It obviously does matter," I stated, struggling to keep my tone uninterested, "Considering that was marvellously better than the fifteen other times you sang it."

"It's none of your business," She said defiantly, placing her hands on her slender hips. I had never seen her irritated with me before and I had to admit that it was kind of amusing. She had a peculiar way of sticking her bottom lip out when she was mad.

"Angel?" She said timidly, and I hadn't realized how long I had been silent. "I'm sorry if I made you angry… I just don't really want to share, that's all."

"Oh," I spoke, slightly shocked at her apology. "I'm not angry my dear, your angel is just thinking."

"Okay," She sighed, relief obvious in her tone. Had she honestly been that upset about the prospect of upsetting me? What a curious thing!

"Whatever you were thinking about it, ensure its ready in your mind next lesson." I stated simply.

"I'm sure it will be," She mumbled, almost too quiet for me to hear.

"You have done well Christine," I stated, "You may go… See you tomorrow."

She turned and began to walk, then abruptly stopped.

"Angel?" She questioned timidly, slowly turning around.

"Yes?" I answered, unsure as to what expect.

"I was wondering something…" She trailed off, shyly playing with her hair and looking down at her feet.

"Go on," I prompted her, surprisingly eager to hear her question.

"Well, I was wondering if maybe we could try singing a duet sometime." She blushed again.

"Oh," I said in surprise, then continued, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice. "Perhaps… It's good for you to practice harmonizing."

"Okay," She grinned broadly. "Goodnight angel," And she walked out of the theatre.

I stood there for a moment, then left down the secret passage way to the underground lake that surrounded my home.

Despite how trivial I knew it was, curiosity seemed to burn within me. What had she been thinking about that had made her sing so beautifully? Was there a man in her life I didn't know of? Was it love that caused her voice to have so much passion?

Jealousy flamed up inside me, pushing the curiosity to the side. She would not love anyone else, not while I was around. She couldn't… To love someone else would mean to leave me, and maybe even her music.

For the sake of my sanity, I couldn't let that happen.

I walked over to the lone couch in my sitting room and picked up my sketch pad, beginning to draw the first thing that came to mind… Christine.

I began to draw he quickly; The delicate wave of her hair, the fullness of her lips, the brightness of her eyes… She was so beautiful.

I drew for nearly five hours, all sketches of Christine. None of them seemed to truly capture her essence and after I completely nearly the tenth drawing of her I threw down the paper in frustration. I had drawn for the rulers of the middle east! And yet I couldn't manage to draw one nineteen year old girl.

The new emotions coursing through me had left me emotionally exhausted, so I retired to my large, four-poster bed early that night. However, I was also more determined. I needed to know more about Christine Daae, and not just what I learned through our lessons.

I wanted to know about her past, present and future; her likes and her dislikes; her friends, hobbies and dreams. I wanted to know her more than I had ever wanted to know something in my life. And one thing was for sure, I would learn everything I could about her… The Phantom of the Opera could do anything.

**AN: **Voila! Here is the second chapter! So this story is going to be told from both Christine and Erik's POV… For the first little bit Erik's chapters are going to be a bit shorter, since I need to write Christine to progress the plot. I'm hoping to try to update every Friday since I have enough written ahead that I should be able to stay a few chapters ahead even when I'm busy Thanks so much to everyone who has already reviewed and followed me… It means the world to me! I would love it if you all could drop me a review as well… Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Christine's POV**

I awoke early Friday morning, happiness coursing through my body. Today was the day. After a week and a half of lessons my angel was finally going to let me sing a duet with him! I had been asking every lesson since our third lesson, and he had finally consented.

I practically bounced into the kitchen, only to find Meg already sitting there waiting for me.

"Something certainly has you excited," She smiled, and I grinned broadly at her.

"I can just tell today is going to be a great day." I said enthusiastically, pulling her to her feet. "Go get ready… We can go to the café this morning for breakfast, my treat."

"Well as long as you're paying…" She laughed, both of us crowding into the small bathroom to get ready for the day.

Only twenty minutes later (A new record for Meg) we were ready to go, walking quickly through the cold November air to our favourite café near the theatre.

The café was small and locally owned, not part of a big chain like many coffee shops were. The owners had moved here from Paris and had modeled the café after a typical street café that lined the streets of Paris. Unlike most places in New York, all the food was homemade and fresh, and the coffee was simply astounding.

"So tell me," Meg said, sitting down as a waitress brought them a couple croissants and two _café crèmes._

"Thanks Sophie," I smiled at the waitress.

"Any time Christine," she smiled, "You haven't been here in nearly a week and a half! I almost thought you had found another coffee shop to frequent."

"Never!" Meg said in mock horror. "This girl over here has just been too busy for us lately!" She said it sarcastically, but Christine heard undertones of genuine hurt in her voice.

"Well don't be a stranger!" Sophie smiled, walking over to greet another customer.

"Meg," Christine said softly, turning to her friend. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologise," Meg said bravely, "I mean if you've found some boy to replace me, that's your business…"

"Meg!" I cried, "Is that honestly what you think?"

"What do you expect me to think Christine?" She said bitterly, twirling a plastic stir stick in her coffee. "A week and a half ago I accuse you of sneaking out with a boy, which you deny. Then for nearly two weeks you are out every night and completely ignore me except for at rehearsals!"

"Oh Meg," I sighed. "I promise it's nothing like that!"

"Then what is it Christine?!"

I stayed silent for a moment… Did I tell the truth? This was my best friend, someone I would entrust my life to…

But on the other hand, my angel had made it very clear to not tell anyone about him.

So I settled on a half-truth.

"Okay," I conceded, "I'll tell you… I've been getting voice lessons. I'm not satisfied being just a chorus girl anymore Meg… I really want to be Prima Donna one day! That's why I haven't been around."

She sat there silent for a moment, then burst out into sudden laughter. A look of surprise showed clearly on my face.

"Seriously?" She laughed. "THAT'S where you've been going? Chris! Why didn't you just tell me?!"

I blushed, "I guess I was worried you would think it was stupid… I mean, a simple chorus and ballet girl aspiring to become the Prima Donna in an opera."

"Christine," Meg started, "Dreaming of being the Prima Donna is hardly stupid… I've heard you sing, and you can honestly already sing better than that bitch Carlotta; I can't even imagine what you sound like after taking actual voice lessons!"

I blushed again. "Thanks Meg."

"But seriously Chris, next time just tell me." She said then smiled at me. "Now you hurry up and pay so we can go."

I started giggling, calling Sophie over to our table and fishing out my wallet.

"See you soon!" She called as we left towards the theater, fresh snow starting to fall from the sky.

We were amongst the last dancers to arrive at the theatre, meaning we had to get ready in a rather big hurry so we could warm-up. After quickly changing into our dance shoes and costumes we joined everyone in the theatre and began doing scales.

I sang quietly, careful to blend my voice with everyone else's. For a reason unknown to me, my angel had made it clear that I couldn't showcase my voice yet, and I didn't want to displease him today if he somehow saw me.

Carlotta prance onto the stage, her stupid on-again-off-again boyfriend Piangi scurrying after her.

"I'm here!" She proclaimed, cutting off our scales. "Let's begin!"

"But Ms. Carlotta…" The conductor started.

"I said, let's begin…" she spat, and the conductor reluctantly started the first song.

Carlotta pranced about the stage as Meg and I danced in the background, singing when it was our turn. It was a true testament to the crew's acting skills to act as though we honestly wanted Carlotta's character to be successful; in actuality, we all wanted her to be hit by a large bus.

We were part way through the second act when all of a sudden Carlotta burst out.

"No, no, NO!" She screeched, bringing everyone to an abrupt halt.

"What is it Ms. Carlotta?" The conductor asked with exasperation.

"The dancers missed their stage cue AGAIN! I can't possibly act properly with silly dancing girls constantly getting in my way!" She yelled; Piangi tried to console her but she promptly brushed him off.

"Ms. Carlotta, the dancers are all in their proper places…" Began the choreographer, but Carlotta wouldn't be corrected.

"Well then their 'proper' places need to be changed!" She mocked and started storming off the stage.

"I'm finished rehearsing for today!" She yelled as she stormed out the door, Piangi running after her.

"Alright!" The conductor called to everyone once she was gone, "I need to speak to the managers about Carlotta, so you people may go home early today."

Everyone cheered and the conductor chuckled, leaving everyone to their own business.

All the dancing girls immediately ran to our dressing room, chatting furiously the whole way there.

"Did you hear?" Sara whispered to a group of girls crowded around one of the mirrors. "Buquet told Sabra, who told Jillian, who told Aislinn who told me that a phantom haunts this opera house! Buquet saw him!"

A chorus of gasps followed this statement, whereas Meg and I just rolled our eyes. Honestly, the ballet girls in this theatre were so gullible it was ridiculous.

"Honestly you guys," Meg sighed, "Do you seriously believe something Buquet told you? The man's a pig and probably just wanted to scare you guys into his bed."

Sara blushed furiously, but Cho spoke up first. "Yeah right Meg… You're always so cynical! So what if Buquet likes to sleep around… Like you haven't done the same thing!"

Meg jumped up to speak, but for perhaps the first time in my life I beat her to it.

"How dare you?!" I screamed at Cho, walking towards her so I was right in her face. "Buquet is a slimy, sleazy man… How dare you compare Meg to him?! She is ten times the person you are, and she can actually dance! The lot of you are all a bunch of ditzy gossips who wouldn't know the truth if it hit you in the face! So why don't you run along before the phantom gets you?"

The girls all looked at me in surprise, but a few of them showed genuine fear, including Cho.

"L-let's go girls," Sara stuttered, and they all grabbed their bags and ran out of the theater.

"Bravo Christine!" Meg squealed, clapping excitedly. "Way to scare the living daylights out of them!"

"I don't know what came over me," I laughed in surprise. "I just couldn't let them compare you to Buquet… I've hated that man ever since he tried to hit on you after the opening of the last show."

"Yeah," Meg sighed, "Thank goodness you were there to bail me out!"

"Meg!" I mimicked what I had yelled that night. "We need to go home and walk the dog!"

We both began to laugh. "It wasn't the most original excuse…" I giggled as we walked out the theatre doors.

"Singing lessons?" Meg questioned as she turned away from me.

"Yes," I smiled.

"Have a good time!" she called and began walking back toward the house.

I killed an hour at the café, and then headed back to the theatre early. If my angel wasn't ready for lessons yet, I would just practice on my own.

However, he spoke as soon as I entered the stage.

"Welcome Christine," He said, a smile clear in his voice even though I couldn't see him.

"What's so funny?" I teased, and he began to laugh a deep, throaty laugh. It was the first time I had heard him laugh and it was honestly a beautiful sound.

"I heard your outburst on those silly dancers earlier… It was quite marvelous." He chuckled, and I began laughing with him, surprisingly not that bothered by the fact that he had heard.

"Well thank you," I giggled.

"It wasn't right of them to compare Joseph Buquet to your friend… That man is the scum of the Earth, I would advise you to stay away from him."

"Don't worry, I already do…" I trailed off… seeing some sheet music on the usual stand.

"Yay!" I squealed, excitedly picking up the music.

The title was written in beautiful cursive at the top of the page:

One Hand, One Heart

"I know it's short," He started, "But the harmonizing is good for you to practice…"

"How did you know?" I gasped, clutching the music to my chest, a tear sliding down my cheek.

"Know what my dear?" He asked, confusion clear in his voice.

"That this is my favourite duet of all time." I whispered. "It was my parent's wedding song… Every year on their anniversary my father and mother would sing it, and on their last anniversary I played it on my dad's violin with them... I spent months learning it perfectly so I could play it with them, even though I was only six years old."

"I didn't know you learned the violin," My angel answered quietly.

"Yeah I did," I nodded, holding back tears, "Dad started teaching me when I was three, so I'm actually pretty good at it… Not as good as my dad was, but not awful."

"I would like to hear you play it sometime…" My angel started, but I was already shaking my head.

"I can't," I cried, tears pouring down my face, "I've tried to play, I honestly have, but I just can't do it… The violin is his. It literally sits in my bedroom in the corner, and every day I tell myself I'm going to play it, but my soul just won't let me."

"Singing is different," I continue, pouring out my heart now. "Singing is something that I've always been more passionate about, and for some reason it only took me a couple of weeks after my dad died to start singing again, but I just can't make myself play the violin… The music just doesn't want to be played."

"I understand Christine," He said immediately, "I've had the same thing happen to me with the death of a loved one."

He didn't elaborate, and I didn't feel up to pressing him for details.

"You will be able to play again someday my dear… Just listen to your heart and you'll know when the time has come."

I nodded, using the edge of my sweater to wipe my tears off my face.

"We can sing a different duet," He offered when I didn't say anything. "I had no idea what this song meant to you…"

"No," I cut him off, sounding strangely sure of myself. "I want to sing it with you… I want to sing a duet that holds deep meaning for me, it'll make the music more powerful."

"Okay," He whispered, and the piano started.

"_Make of our hands, one hand,__  
Make of our hearts, one heart.__  
Make of our vows, one last vow__  
Only death will part us now._ " He began to sing, and I felt the power of his voice. I pictured my father, singing to my mother… I pictured a pure, undying love. His voice held every emotion of the song, and I jumped in as soon as it was my turn, letting the passion pour out of me.

_"__Make of our lives, one life.  
Day after day, one life." _I sang out, picturing my mom singing to my dad. The music came from my very soul… and I felt like the song; felt the love, the commitment, the adoration…

And then our voices came together in a harmony more beautiful than any I had experienced.

_"Now it begins, now we start  
One Hand, One Heart.  
Even death won't part us now," _We sang together, pure and unbridled. Singing with my angel was truly the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. Even though there were only a few lines, the emotion overwhelmed me and I fell to my knees on the stage, my legs giving out.

I didn't think it was possible for so many emotions to course through one body… The hurt over losing my mother and father, the love I felt through the song, the wonder at my angel's voice, the curiosity about my angel, the power of singing from my very soul… The beauty of blending my voice with my angel's…

"Christine!" He called out in alarm, "Are you alright?!"

"Yes," I whispered, looking up into the roof. "Just so many feelings… My legs gave out."

"And that, my dear, is what makes you such a spectacular singer… Soon you will learn to channel every bit of those emotions through your music, and then no one in the world will be able to hear you without feeling those emotions with you." He said deeply, but he sounded like he was smiling again.

"Angel?" I said after a few moments.

"Yes my dear?"

"What is your name?" I questioned, "Surely even an angel gets a name."

He was silent for a moment, and I was worried I had made him mad. I was just about to apologise when he spoke.

"Erik," He said softly.

"Erik," I smiled, "That's a perfect name for an angel."

"Thank you," He said, "Now go… That was all I had planned for us tonight, so you are free to leave."

"Goodnight Erik!" I called as I exited the theater.

The night was cold that night, and I wrapped my coat tightly around me as I began walking back toward my apartment.

I had only taken ten steps when I heard a frail scream from behind me. At first I was scared for my own safety (It was New York at night after all), and I whirled around, fear clenched in my stomach.

However, the scream wasn't coming from anything threatening me, it came from a frail, old woman lying on the sidewalk. A large man in a black ski mask was savagely kicking her as she tried helplessly to protect herself.

"Hey!" I yelled without thinking, but the man didn't even turn around.

My mind kicked into overdrive and before I knew what I was doing, I was sprinting toward the masked man. I didn't know what I was going to do, being as small as I was, but I just couldn't leave the woman there to die.

As I approached him, pure adrenaline set in and I launched myself onto his unsuspecting back, desperately hoping he wasn't armed.

I began beating at his face as he tried to swat me off him, temporarily distracted from the old woman. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her pull an old, outdated cell phone out of her pocket and begin to dial the police.

Unfortunately, my moment of distraction allowed the man's large hand to connect with my face.

The shock of the hit caused me to tumble off his back onto the sidewalk, my wrist hitting the pavement awkwardly. I let out a cry of pain.

He glared at me murderously, but was quickly distracted by the sounds of approaching sirens. Without another look at me he turned and began to run.

My mind was already made up before I even realized it. Despite the growing pain in my wrist (The adrenaline was beginning to wear off), I jumped up and chased him. After all that I just did I wasn't going to let him get away to hurt anyone else.

Just as the police car and ambulance stopped at the curb, I dived at the man, managing to hit the back of his knees with my shoulder. He came crashing down half on top of me, causing my already bruised face and broken wrist to hit the pavement hard, as well as my side. Within moments the cops had him off me and handcuffed, and a young, attractive EMT kneeled over me.

"Is… the… lady… alright?" I panted as he began to check my injuries.

"Bruised ribs and some severe bruising, but nothing that won't heal." He said kindly, then turned to his partners. "I need a wrist splint and some bandages… I have a sprained wrist and some road-rash and bruising on her face, as well as bruised ribs."

"I jumped on his back and he punched me…" I began, but cried out in pain as he wrapped my wrist.

"Sorry," He murmured, then locked the splint into place. Surprisingly the pain eased off a little.

"Can you walk miss…?" He trailed off, realizing he didn't know my name.

"Daae… Christine Daae." I answered. "Oh God, my side... I don't think I can."

He brought a stretcher and loaded me into the ambulance.

"Here," He passed me some pain medication, which I gladly took. Then I looked at the woman whom I had risked my life to help.

"What's your name?" I asked softly, trying to smile until I realised how much that hurt my face.

"You can call me Mama Valerius," she smiled softly, "Thank you, you're an angel."

"Happy to help," I said without smiling, "My name's Christine."

"You're a lovely girl Christine." Mama Valerius smiled and placed her hand comfortingly on mine; it was the closest gesture to a parent's touch that I'd had since my father died. We rode in comfortable silence all the way to the hospital.

**AN: **Hey everyone! Sorry this is so late, but it was the opening night of our school's production of The Sound of Music tonight! I just love music! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**ERIK'S POV**

Immediately after our lesson I made my way down into the seats of the theatre, not my lair as I usually did after Christine sang. I needed a moment to mull over what had just happened, and my mind wouldn't wait until I was in my home to think.

The passion that she sang with was absolutely astounding! Had I known what that duet meant to Christine, I may have at least been prepared for it, but the sound of the music ripping from her soul left me breathless. The pain of losing her parents, the hardships she had been through, the love she had for them, the love they had for each other… All combined into a few glorious notes!

The world needed to hear her sing. In terms of technicality she still had a long way to go, but that kind of passion could not stay hidden for long. The crime-filled, depressing world needed an angel of music like Christine Daae, and I would stop at nothing to have that happen.

I stole into the manager's office, using the trapdoor hidden behind the old book case. Without hesitation I pulled out a piece of Andre's stationary and found a pen, eager for my plan to begin.

_Dear Mr. Andre and Mr. Firmin,_

I began to write in my typical cursive… I couldn't bear to type anything, it was simply too impersonal.

_I have recently noticed your opera is lacking in the musical talent it needs to be truly amazing. Honestly, this is largely due to your leading soprano, Carlotta. For lack of a better term, she is horrendous; her singing lacks passion, her attitude is atrocious and her acting, well, "horrible" would be a generous descriptor of the way she prances about the stage._

_ Now why am I telling you this? The answer is simple; I have recently discovered a blooming soprano in the form of one of your chorus girls, Christine Daae. I am anxious her career should take flight, and I would like her cast as the lead instead of Carlotta in the upcoming premier of Hannibal. _

_ I am recommending you comply, not just for your own sake, but for the entire opera. _

_ Signed, _

_ Opera Ghost, (OG)_

I chuckled as I signed the letter, laughing at my own genius. The threat laced into the end was subtle, yet effective; not enough to cause downright fear, but just enough to start spreading some unease into the minds of the managers. Perfect.

I looked down at my old-fashioned pocket watch (a rare collectible I has picked up in an antique store downtown) and cursed at the time. At this rate I would be horribly late.

I quickly strode to the back door of the theatre, letting myself out into the cool night. I hailed a taxi a few blocks away careful to hide my masked face under the hood of my jacket. Where I was going, you didn't want any unnecessary attention.

The cab ride was short and uneventful, and soon I was standing outside a small pub in the middle of the city, mostly hidden by large office buildings all around it. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at two teenage drug addicts doing drugs right outside the doors as I entered the nearly empty room. The only occupants were four men, sitting in a corner drinking alcohol out of some rather sketchy looking glasses.

"Phantom!" One of the men, called Bones, beckoned to me. Bones was a short, stout man, but was almost as clever as me, making him a good asset to our little group. Although, I always thought Bones was a stupid pseudonym to take… Of course none of us knew each other's real names, lest someone get caught and interrogated.

"Have a seat!" A different man, Rasputin, called. Rasputin was average sized, but he had connections like no other. Unlike the rest of us, Rasputin didn't lie low, he lived out in the world, blackmailing people into working for us.

I took a seat next to Barnabas, a tall muscular man who always dressed like a gangster from the 1920's, however, he was the most agreeable person in the entire group. He was the muscle of the group, but wasn't stupid by any stretch… and, he was incredibly… Persuasive.

"So we had an incident with one of our muggers last night." Hades spoke up, and everyone went straight into business mode. Hades was our organizer, and oversaw all of our crime operations.

"And what is that?" I questioned calmly, even though it was obviously an issue if he felt it necessary to bring it up.

"He got arrested," Hades said, taking a swig from his glass. "He was mugging an old lady, and some chick jumped on his back and somehow managed to hold him off long enough for the old lady to call the cops."

"Which mugger?" Rasputin questioned.

"Tom," Hades answered immediately.

The group was silent.

"You mean to tell me," Bones said after a moment, "That some random girl off the street, took down Tom!"

"Yes," Hades replied tensely.

"Who the Hell is this girl?" Barnabas exclaimed, "Some freaking wrestler or something?!"

"We don't have a name yet," Hades spoke calmly, "And it all happened tonight so I haven't had a chance to see Tom yet to get a description of her."

"Do you think she knows anything?" I asked quietly.

"No," Hades said, "I think she was just the good Samaritan that tried to help and old lady being mugged."

"So what's the plan then?" Bones answered.

"Rasputin, you'll need to go talk to Tom and get a description, then take it to one of our sources and find a name. We'll see what we need to do from there." Hades said, "In other news, the heist we organized on that little casino last week went swimmingly… Here's your shares gentlemen."

He pulled out four stacks of money out of his briefcase, passing one to each of the men.

"What was the payout this time?" Barnabas asked, beginning to count his money.

" Three million… Five hundred thousand for each of us and five hundred thousand to cover our other expenses."

"What about the bank robbery in two weeks? What's the expected payout for that one?" I inquired, trying to line up my expenses.

"About a million each if we estimated correctly."

"Excellent," I smiled.

"That was a brilliant plan Phantom," Rasputin clapped him on the back, "Pure genius."

"Your plans are helping me pay for all my weekends in Vegas!" Bones exclaimed, "I can get two or three women a night if I want," He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Everyone else laughed, but I just rolled my eyes.

"Well if we are done… I really must be going." I said, standing up to leave.

"Oh, Phantom?" Bones said, and I turned to face him.

"Yes?"

"I can let you know for sure next week, but there may be someone I need to be taken care of, okay?" He spoke softly.

I nodded without saying anything and exited the pub, deciding to go for a walk in the chilly night air.

Those crime ring meetings were so tiresome. All we did was meet, get our money, figure out who we were going to rob, hire and dispose of, and go. Of course, I was sometimes the one that had to do the disposing, but usually it was no big deal… Just another mugger that no one would miss.

However, by the way Bones talked, this person was different. I was curious as to who was so bad that the "Phantom's" skills were required to take care of them.

My curiosity quickly went away as I reached the outer door to my theatre and escaped down into my lair, crossing the lake quickly. The emotions swelling inside me needed to be proclaimed to the world, and there was only one way I could do that.

As soon as I tied the boat to the small dock I made my way to the music room, my fingers immediately starting to trail across the keys.

My beloved _Don Juan _poured out of me once more, a torrent of unspoken emotion. As I pictured the beautiful character Amnita, I found myself picturing Christine…

In my mind she became the character, and I found myself writing Don Juan with certain elements of myself in it. Of course he was a much better man than I, charming, charismatic, handsome… But with the same cleverness and cunning as myself.

As I approached the beautiful duet between Don Juan and Amnita, my hands suddenly froze on the keyboard, a roadblock setting itself across my thoughts.

This was one of the most volatile human emotions, but one that I had no experience in. How could I write about Amnita and Don Juan's love and passion when it was something I had never experienced?! I was never going to be able to convey the emotions I needed to!

Slamming my hands on the keyboard, I stormed away from the piano, ripping off my mask in pure fury. I threw it to the floor, cursing the ridiculous monstrosity in every language I knew how (And that was over twenty languages).

Life was unfair… So terribly unfair. How could I have been gifted with such powerful music, but have such a cursed face I could never share it?! Was I just some cruel joke by the universe?

Then it dawned on me.

I may not have been able to proclaim my music to the world, but Christine could. Her beauty and magnificence would be eagerly accepted by the world of opera, and the passion in her voice could certainly do my music justice.

I began to formulate a plan in my mind… If I kept developing her voice, acquiring her trust under the guise of her angel of music, I could use her to share my song with the world. She could be my mask to the audiences of this planet.

I walked over to my room, emotionally exhausted due to the events of the day. Without even bothering to take my suit off, I curled up under my silk covers and was enveloped by the welcoming darkness.

**AN: **Sorry for updating this so late… I got home late from drama However, technically it is Friday for another hour, so I'm still keeping my updating promise Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and followed this story… You are the reason I am motivated to keep writing On that note… I hoped you liked it! And please review


	5. Chapter 5

The hospital was bustling, even though it was nearly two in the morning by the time I was ready to leave. My wrist was wrapped with a tensor bandage, and they had given me some painkillers to take for the next few days. Luckily I had convinced them it wasn't necessary to bandage my face, but right now that hurt more than my wrist did.

Just as I began to walk toward the door at the end of the long, white hallway, the paramedic from the street walked up beside me, giving me a friendly smile.

"How are you?" He asked, concern evident on his face.

"Fine, thank you." I attempted to smile, but ended up wincing in pain. "Okay, smiling is not a good idea."

"Considering you took on someone over twice your size, I'd say you faired pretty well." He laughed a beautiful, throaty laugh, and I marveled for a moment at how handsome he was. I started to laugh to, but immediately stopped as the pain in my ribs took over.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He gently put his hand on my shoulder to stop me from walking.

"Laughing hurts," I sighed, wishing I could smile into his dazzling blue eyes.

"Okay, no laughing," He said seriously, a barely suppressed smile playing across his lips.

"So is there any particular reason you wanted to talk to me?" I questioned lightly as we began to walk again.

"Yes, actually," He grinned, pulling a loose strand of golden hair away from his chiseled face. Oh my goodness he was hot! "You are Christine Daae?"

"Yes," I answered, confused.

"Do you remember when you and your father used to go visit Southern Florida? I believe you had a cabin there and used to go at least twice every summer." He began, his eyes sparkling.

"Yes, I remember," I said sadly, feeling a sudden pang of longing for my dad. My emotions were still raw after singing that beautiful duet with Erik… If this man knew so much about my summers, didn't he know my father was gone? And how did he even know about my summers?

"Well my family had a cabin there too when I was little," He continued. "And one day I saw a little girl with a stunning scarlet scarf walking along the beach. I went out to talk with her, but to her dismay the beautiful scarf was caught by the wind and carried into the sea. Then I, still in my Sunday best, ran into the waves and retrieved it for her." He finished, a boyish grin on his face.

Realization dawned on me, and I smiled despite the pain it caused me, speaking without hesitation. "After that we became the best of friends; playing in the water every summer while we were at the cabin, writing letters when we weren't, going to bonfire parties as we got older…" I stopped for a moment, looking directly into his eyes. "Raoul? Is it really you?"

"The one and only!" He said laughingly, stepping back and holding out his arms.

"I can't believe it's you!" I exclaimed, throwing myself into his arms and wrapping my arms around him, despite the pain that shot up my side. Thank goodness it was just a slight bruising in my ribs. He put his arms around me eagerly, and I could hear his deep laugh resonating throughout the hallway.

I stepped back, but he kept his arms around me, keeping me close but being careful not to push too hard on my side. "How old are you now? Twenty?"

"I just turned twenty-one." He smiled. "And you?"

"Oh yeah! Your birthday was last week!" I exclaimed. "And I'm nineteen… I don't turn twenty until the twentieth of January, don't you remember?"

"Of course I do." He smiled… He still hadn't relinquished his hold on me, but I was perfectly content to stay in his arms. His expression grew somber and he spoke again, more quietly. "Why did you stop coming Christine? Two years ago I just stopped hearing from you; no visits, no letters, nothing… "

His voice faded away, and sadness filled his eyes; it nearly broke my heart.

"Oh Raoul," I said, unshed teas blurring my vision. I buried my face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around me, finding comfort in his familiar embrace.

"My father's gone. " I sobbed, tears flowing freely now. "That's why I stopped coming… He's gone…" Pain shot up my side with every cry, but I couldn't stop.

"I'm so sorry Christine," He murmured into my hair as my tears began to stain his shirt.

It felt wonderful to have someone hold me. Raoul's arms felt warm, safe, familiar and strong, and for the first time since my father's death I felt a connection to him; not the passionate, fleeting connection I felt while singing with Erik, but a calm, constant connection.

By the time he stepped back I was already wiping my tears away. "Sorry about that," I mumbled.

"Don't be sorry," He whispered softly, wiping one final tear off my cheek with his thumb. "I'm sorry I made you hurt like this… Will you let me make it up to you?"

"You really don't have to…" I spoke as we approached the exit of the hospital.

He placed his hand on my shoulder again, gently turning me toward him before I could walk out the doors. "Please?" His eyes pleaded with me, and my heart melted. After a moment I nodded, how could I turn him down now?

"How does dinner Friday night sound?" He questioned joyfully, smiling his sexy grin.

"Perfect," I smiled flirtatiously, ignoring the pain shooting across my face.

He held the door open for me, and questioned as I walked through. "Can I give you a ride? My shift is over and I'm assuming you don't have a vehicle here."

"Actually, I don't have a vehicle at all." I said playfully, "So a ride would be excellent."

He held out his arm like an old fashioned gentlemen, and I suppressed a giggle as I rested my hand in the crook of his elbow.

We chatted easily on the way to the staff parkade, until we came to a stop in front of a cherry-red, F-type Jaguar. If my face wasn't still hurting from smiling, my jaw would have dropped.

"This is your car?!" I exclaimed as he opened the passenger side door for me.

"It was a birthday present," He shrugged climbing into the driver's side. I did up my seatbelt and ran my hand along the edge of the smooth leather seats.

"A birthday present from who, the queen of England?!" I said, turning on the radio.

"Christine, you know who my parents are." He sighed, pulling the car onto the highway and accelerating at an amazing pace.

"Of course I do," I yelled over the wind with a wave of my hand. "But if you get cars like this, why work?"

"I don't want to live off my parent's fortune." He yelled back. "I want to actually help people in the world, not just pump oil out of our planet."

Raoul's parents were the co-owners of the largest oil-company in the nation, making them multi-billionaires. His "cabin" in Florida was one of five of his family homes, and was actually a three story mansion, as opposed to our small wooden cabin.

"Sounds very noble," I said a little quieter as we came to a stop at a red light. "So my apartment is a block away from the Opera Populaire… Do you know where that is?"

"Yes actually," He nodded, expertly weaving the agile jaguar through New York City traffic. "My family has season tickets this year."

"Awesome!" I clapped. "I work there!"

"Really?" He exclaimed, "What a strange coincidence! What do you do?"

"I'm just one of the chorus girls," I blushed, "But I hope to be a lead someday."

"If your voice is half as amazing as I remember it to be I'm sure you will be," He smiled, casually resting his free hand on mine.

We spent the entire car ride catching up on the two years we had missed with each other. Unfortunately, he stopped in front of my building much too soon.

"It was good seeing you," I leaned over the center console and gave him a hug.

"Hopefully we can meet under better circumstances next time." He chuckled, motioning to my wrist. "Can I have your phone number so I can contact you about dinner?"

"Sure, where's your phone?" I answered as flirtatiously as I could without smiling too much.

"Buried in my work bag somewhere," He smiled, pulling up his sleeve and exposing his arm. He grabbed a pen and passed it to me. "Write away."

I wrote my name in my neat cursive, and then wrote my phone number underneath. "Your turn!" I proclaimed, holding out my arm without the cast on it. He scrawled his name and number on it with surprisingly neat writing, and then pulled back, grinning.

"Until Friday." He smiled,

"Until then." I smiled a little bit and got out of the car, walking toward my building.

He waved charmingly at me, and I was in the lobby when I finally heard him pull away.

When I reached our apartment, I opened the door quietly, hoping Meg was already asleep. Unfortunately, my luck wasn't nearly that good.

"What happened?!" Meg screeched, rushing to my side and escorting me to our small couch as if I was going to break.

"I'm fine Meg… Just a sprained wrist and bruised ribs." I sighed as she sat down next to me, looking frantic.

"What about your face?" She snorted, "And how did you sprain your wrist and hurt your ribs?!"

I relayed the whole story to her, and she sat on the edge of the couch, awe on her face. If I didn't know that she was genuinely worried about me, I would have thought she was excited from how wound up she was.

"So you just launched yourself at a freaking mugger? You, one of the single, most petite, people I know, launched yourself at 250 pounds of mugger?!" She exclaimed, putting her hands on my shoulders and shaking me gently. "What is wrong with you?!"

"He was beating up an old lady!" I exclaimed, then grimaced as pain shot up my face. I spoke quieter once the pain had subsided. "I wasn't going to just let her die."

"You are so brave," Meg smiled, pulling me into a tentative hug.

"Oh, and guess what?" I said quietly.

"Was that an excited guess what, or a sad guess what… I can't tell since you can't really smile." She grinned, and it took everything I had not to smile back.

"You will never guess who I met at the hospital… Raoul! The boy I was telling you about who used to visit dad and I at the cabin!" I said as excitedly as I could manage.

"No shit!" She exclaimed, "Tell me everything!"

"Well he's an EMT now, and training to become a paramedic… He was one of the people to arrive at the scene. He just turned twenty-one, and drives a freaking F-Type Jaguar! He's everything I remember him to be… Kind, strong, smart, funny…" Meg smiled at me, absorbing every word that came out of my mouth.

"And my goodness how he's matured in two years! Meg, he's gorgeous. His blue eyes are just how I remember them, and his smile is too…" I trailed off, my lips turning up in a faint smile as my mind brought up memories of Raoul.

"Girl…" Meg started, breaking me out of my trance. "You got it bad!"

"No I don't !" I argued, "It was just nice to see him is all."

"So you didn't make any plans to go out?" she questioned sceptically.

"Well…" I mumbled.

"WHAT?!" She exclaimed, "TELL ME!"

"He didn't know about dad passing away, so when I told him I kind of broke down… Snotted all over his shirt and everything, and he just held me and let me cry… Then he kind of asked me to dinner…"

"Yay!" She squealed, "Christine is finally getting a social life!"

"Ha ha," I swatted at her playfully, "Now I really want to go to bed… I'm exhausted."

"Okay sweetie," She smiled consolingly and let me go to my bedroom. "Dream of Raoul!"

"I will," I muttered, too quiet for her to hear. "Goodnight Meg!"

I collapsed onto the pillow without even bothering to put pajamas on me, the day's events finally catching up within me. Within moments sleep took me.

I awoke late the next morning, being forced by Meg to stay home from practice. I lazed into the kitchen, pouring myself a bowl of Cheerios.

A thought suddenly dawned on me… The old lady! I had gotten so caught up with running into Raoul that I hadn't even checked to make sure she was alright!

How was I going to get a hold of her? Glancing down, I saw Raoul's number written across my arm… Maybe he could find out where she lived so I could stop by.

I pulled out my cell phone and called, crossing my fingers.

"Christine?" He answered on the second ring. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," I answered quickly. "I actually had a favour to ask you… You know the old lady that came in with me? Do you think you could find out her address? I want to go visit her and see if she's okay."

"I'm not really supposed to…" He started, "But for you, I guess I'll make an exception. Just hang on a minute."

I heard the sound of the phone being put down, and began to hum to myself. Raoul returned to the phone within the minute.

"She actually lives really close to you." He muttered, and I heard papers shuffling. "Do you know the senior's center three blocks away from you?"

"Yes," I answered immediately.

"She lives right in there." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Thanks so much Raoul." I gushed. "See you Friday!"

"I'm looking forward to it," He flirted.

"Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and quickly went into my room to throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, eager to go visit the lady I had saved.

Within twenty minutes I was at the door, pulling on my jacket and slipping on my boots. I locked the door behind me and made my way into the cold street.

It was a short walk to the senior's home, and only took me about fifteen minutes. As I walked in I crossed my fingers that she would be awake and willing to see me.

"Hello," I smiling receptionist greeted me. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yes," I attempted to smile back. "I'm looking for someone."

"What's their name sweetie?" She cooed.

"Well, the only name I have is Mama Valerius…" I trailed off, and she looked at me curiously.

"You're here to see Mama Valerius?" She clarified.

"Yes," I confirmed. "Is that a problem?"

"Oh no," She shook her head and smiled. "It's just that no one visits the poor woman anymore… Her family is simply too busy for her, and her own children haven't seen her in over eight months."

"Well I'm just a friend." I said.

"Well, I'm happy a nice girl like you is visiting her… She's a real sweetheart." She smiled to herself, and clicked the mouse a couple times. "She's in room 1008, floor 1, sweetie, go ahead on up."

I walked toward the elevator, and hit the button for the first floor. Surprisingly, I was a little bit nervous… What if she didn't want to see me?

The elevator doors opened and I made my way to room 1008, hesitantly knocking on the door.

A few seconds went by before the door swung open. "Hello?" She said as she opened the door. Her eyes were kind, and smile lines highlighted her eyes and her ever-present smile.

"Hi," I said cheerfully. "I'm Christine, the girl from last night."

"Oh, I know who you are," She smiled, motioning me into the small room. "One does not simply forgot someone who saved their life. Sit down, and I'll make us some coffee."

She hobbled over to the old, outdated coffee maker, pouring grinds into the top of it. Once she set it brewing she came and sat down next to me.

"So tell me," She smiled in a motherly way. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I just wanted to see if you were alright." I smiled, my face already feeling better this morning. "I'm sorry for not checking on you last night… I got distracted."

"Oh nonsense dear," She patted me on the shoulder. "I'm sure a beautiful girl like you must be very busy."

I blushed at the compliment. "Thank you."

"Just stating what everyone knows to be true." She laughed. "Thank you for coming to visit this old lady… I'm afraid I don't get many visits anymore."

"How could anyone not want to visit you?" I smiled.

She stood up and pulled a photo album off her shelf, sitting down right next to me. "This is my only daughter," She pointed at a picture of a professional looking woman, probably in her forties. "She is a big time lawyer, and never has the time to see me anymore."

She flipped the page to a picture of two university students; a boy and a girl, roughly the same age. "These are my only grandchildren… Samantha and Brock. They're twins, and both going to Harvard now… Samantha is taking law like her mother, and Brock is in medical school."

"They sound very smart." I commented.

"Of course they are," She said proudly. "They're my grandchildren after all… But going to university doesn't leave a lot of time to visit their old grandmother."

"Well Mama Valerius," I smiled. "I would love to keep visiting you."

"I would like that very much dear." She smiled as the coffee pot began to beep.

She stood and began to pour me a cup of coffee, putting it on a silver tray with dishes of cream and sugar on it.

"Well now you know something about me," She spoke as she placed the tray on the coffee table and sat down. "What's something I should know about you?"

"Well," I started, running my fingers through my hair. "I work as a chorus girl at the Opera Populaire."

"That sounds like a lovely job." She smiled. "I used to go to the opera all the time as a young girl."

"I could get you tickets to the upcoming performance if you would like." I smiled, "We're doing Hannibal."

"That would be wonderful!" She exclaimed.

We chatted easily for over an hour when I finally had to leave.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, "I promised my friend I would meet her at the opera house in half an hour. Would it be okay if I visited again?"

"You're always welcome here Christine," she smiled as I walked out the door. "Take care!"

I walked to the opera house with a spring in my step, incredibly happy at the wonderful twist of fate that had brought Mama Valerius into my life. For the first time I could remember, I felt like I had a mother.

**AN: **Another chapter! Thanks to everyone for the continued reviews and support It honestly makes my day! I've been trying to respond to everyone who reviews, so hopefully I've gotten back to you If you liked this chapter, or have any criticism, please leave a review!

Thanks!

(Just a side note, this is my longest chapter yet! Yay! 3318 words!)


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

I sat in my hidden spot in the ceiling of the theatre, eagerly awaiting Christine's arrival. Now that I had even thought about her sing my music, I was becoming increasingly excited about the prospect. The notes of our duet had haunted me all night and I found myself physically craving her voice.

Unfortunately I hadn't been able to watch the rehearsals for Hannibal today, due to an urgent call from Hades regarding news about our little "good Samaritan." Apparently Rasputin had been into see Tom in prison, and he had given us a description of the girl.

I for one didn't see what the big deal was… So one girl took down one of our hundreds of muggers; that hardly meant that our whole operation was threatened. Sometimes Hades could be so paranoid.

"Erik?" A soft voice gently called from the stage, and I snapped out of my thoughts, nearly falling out of my seat. As the Phantom, I wasn't used to being caught off guard… Christine had managed to enter without me even noticing… How strange.

"Erik?" She called again, a little louder.

"Yes my dear?" I answered, looking down at the stage smiling.

My smile froze on my face.

My beautiful angel was hurt… horrible bruising and scrapes trailed down her beautiful face, and her delicate wrist was wrapped in a tensor bandage.

"I'm sorry angel, but I can't sing today…" She began, but I interrupted her.

"Christine!" I exclaimed in alarm. "What happened?!"

She sat down on the stool I always had sitting on the stage and looked timidly at the floor.

"Well," she started, "I have two bruised ribs, a sprained wrist and some bruising on my face… After our lesson last night I ran into a man mugging an old lady, and I kind of launched myself at his back. When he knocked me off he hit my face pretty hard, and I landed on my wrist weird."

"That doesn't explain the ribs." I stated, still in shock at the horror of seeing my Christine hurt.

"Oh," She blushed a little through the bruising. "He tried to run away, but the police weren't there yet… So I kind of tackled the back of his knees to stop him. He came down on top of me, and it bruised two of my ribs and scraped my face even more."

When I didn't answer, she began talking more frantically. "I'm so sorry, but I can't sing tonight Angel… The doctor said that I can't sing for at least two weeks, until my ribs and my face are healed better."

"There is no need to be sorry Christine," I whispered, a horrible thought beginning to dawn on me, but I pushed it aside. "That was an incredibly brave thing you did, but do you have no sense of self- preservation! Why would you put yourself in such danger! That lady was not your responsibility!"

Christine got a look in her eyes I had never seen before. She looked fierce, and got a steely look of determination in her eyes.

"She was in trouble." She said fiercely, standing up abruptly, with a slight grimace and putting her hands on her slender hips. "And I wasn't going to look the other way while an old lady got beat up… If everyone in this world looked out for each other, the world would be a much better place. It is everyone's responsibility to look out for their fellow people, and it seems to be a responsibility most people ignore!"

She yelled the last word, and then doubled over and clutched her side, taking shallow breaths.

"Christine!" I yelled in alarm.

"It's okay," She panted, "I should have known better than to yell… It hurts like Hell. That's just something I get worked up about is all."

Gradually, she straightened and sat back on the stool.

"I see your point Christine," I said hesitantly, "But the world will always have crime in it, and there is often nothing you can do about it."

"There is always something you can do about it." She said clearly, the same determination coming back in her voice. "You certainly have a shitty attitude for an angel!"

"And you certainly have a serious hero complex for a nineteen year old! I'm just being realistic Christine!" I shot back automatically, shocked at her calling me out on my attitude… She was usually so sweet and timid. "The reality is everyone is not going to look out for each other, so why would you put yourself in danger…"

She interrupted me, pointing right at where I was sitting even though she obviously couldn't see me. "Attitudes like that are why the compassion in the world is dwindling… 'Nobody else will stick up for me, so why stick up for them?' You have to be the start of the movement Erik!" She looked at me with those steely eyes, her eyes literally piercing my soul. "You are incredibly pessimistic for someone who writes such beautiful music."

"And you are incredibly stubborn for someone who is so sweet." I retorted.

The tiniest grin pulled up the corner of her lips. "It only takes one person to change the lives of thousands of people."

"And with a soul like yours my dear, I have no doubt that it will be you." I smiled at the purity and innocence that still radiated off her, even after all of the horrible things life had handed her. An orphan at nineteen… And still she chose to see every beautiful thing in the world! She was truly extraordinary.

"So Angel, tell me, what is your favourite thing to do when you're not giving lessons to random teenage girls?" She asked lightly.

"Firstly, you are the only one that I give lessons to," I smiled, thinking of an answer to her question. "I compose for a large portion of my spare time, or I read."

"I didn't know if an angel would like to read…What do you like to read?" She asked, her eyes lighting up.

I had to think for a moment; I was unused to being asked about myself so much. "Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Allan Poe, and Crime and Punishment are my favourites."

"I like Sherlock Holmes, and I tried reading Edgar Allan Poe and Crime and Punishment, but they were too dark for me. I prefer romances like Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice, but I think Beauty and the Beast is my favourite."

"Those are all very good reads." I found myself smiling more than I ever had in my life in this one night. She read classic novels too? Is there anything Christine Daae can't do? "But Beauty and the Beast is your favourite? That's a children's story!"

"I know," She blushed, "But it's just so beautiful. Belle proves to the beast that he is beautiful, and worth loving even though he believes he is beyond saving. In the end, her love and disregard for his looks end up being his redemption… It's wonderful."

I was shocked into silence. I needed to change the subject… That particular story-line hit too close to home, and I wasn't prepared to deal with it.

"Well Christine," I spoke softly. "Why don't you go home and get some rest? I'm sure you're tired, and your body needs sleep to heal."

"Okay," She whispered. "Goodnight angel."

"Oh Christine?" I called as she began to leave the stage. "Please try and stay out of danger, for me?"

She smiled slightly. "As long as there are no old ladies being mugged." And left through the back door.

Immediately after she left, the thought I had been suppressing shot to the forefront of my mind. Christine had attacked a mugger last night… The same night Hades had mentioned Tom getting taken down… If Christine was the girl Tom had described…

Panic consumed me. She wasn't safe, and if I admitted my attachment to her she would just be in even more danger; My hands were tied.

Just then my phone rang, the caller ID showing it was Hades.

"Phantom," He spoke quickly and purposefully. "We found the name of the girl who attacked Tom."

"Oh? Who?" I asked nonchalantly, it taking everything I had to hid the terror I was feeling.

"Her name is Christine Daae."

**AN: **First off, I'm so, so sorry for not updating on Friday! *Cowers from angry readers* Life got too busy and I honestly completely forgot… However, that means you don't have to wait as long until Friday, when I PROMISE I'll post the next chapter, and it's much longer than this one Even though you may be mad, can you still find it in your heart to drop me a quick review? First three reviews get previews of the next chapter

Thanks so much for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

CHRISTINE POV

I sat in front of my vanity on Friday, sighing in frustration as I tried to manage my unruly curls. It had been four days, and Madame Giry still hadn't even let me try to dance… I know I bruised my ribs, but I needed to rehearse! And now I only had an hour to get ready for my dinner with Raoul, and I still had ugly bruises and scrapes all over my face. I pinned my curls into an elegant side sweep and pinned a silver flower into it.

I gave up on my hair and started dabbing foundation lightly on my face, wincing every time I hit a bruise. It took me nearly twenty minutes to put it on, and all it did was fade some of the scrapes a little bit. I applied my favourite white and silver eyeshadow, black eyeliner and mascara and a delicate pink liptstick.

Finally, at ten to seven I pulled on the purple cocktail dress I had bought just for the occasion. Raoul had said to dress up, and I hoped he really meant it, since the dress had cost me about $250.

It was stunning. The bodice had a sweetheart neckline, with delicate crystals all over it. A crystal belt sat delicately on the top of the gorgeous tulle skirt. I topped the whole thing off with a diamond necklace that had been left to me by my mother, Meg's diamond earrings she had gotten for her birthday and a pair of purple strappy heels.

"Christine! Raoul's here!" She yelled, and I heard his wonderful voice on chatting on the other side of the door.

"Coming!" I yelled out as I stood next to the door.

"Now Raoul," I teased, "You better not have lied about dressing up… Or else I'm going to feel really stupid."

I slowly opened the door, and walked out…

I wasn't disappointed. Raoul looked stunningly handsome in a tailored classic tuxedo, with his normally messy hair slicked back. He smiled broadly went he saw me, looking at me with pure adoration.

"Christine," He breathed, holding out his arm like a gentlemen. "You look absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks," I blushed, "You look pretty handsome yourself."

"Have a good time Christine!" Meg called as we walked out the door.

"Bye Meg!" I called behind me as we left down the stairs.

"So where are we going?" I asked coyly, as we reached the first landing… Stairs were not fun in platform heels.

"You'll see," He smiled secretively until we reached the lobby.

He led me to his Jaguar and opened the door for me. Once I was in he slid into the other side and pulled away from the curb.

We chatted easily as he drove through the bustling streets of New York. Before too long we pulled up to the curve of _Daniel_, I gasped as he opened my door and helped me out of the car.

He held out his arm for me and I took it, gazing around in wonder. He passed his keys to a valet, who drove his beautiful car away.

He led me through lovely glass doors into an exquisite lobby, where a sharply dressed host stood behind an intricately carved podium.

He smiled at us. "It's nice to see you again Mr. de Chagny, and Miss…?" He looked at me quizzically.

"Christine Daae." Raoul answered for me, with a huge smile. "Can we have our usual table please Edward?"

"Of course Mr. de Chagny." He answered, leading us into the giant dining room.

A stunning crystal chandelier hung in the middle of an extravagantly decorated dining room. Edward led us over to a white-clothed table in the corner of the room. Red roses adorned the center of the table and delicate crystal champagne glasses sat in at the place settings, along with more cutlery than I had ever seen in my life.

Raoul pulled out my chair for me and sat down across from me as another sharply dressed waiter came and took our order.

"Champagne sir?" He asked formally.

"The usual please," Raoul stated nonchalantly, and then looked at me.

"And for you miss?" He asked me. I couldn't order alcohol since I wasn't twenty-one yet.

"A virgin martini," I smiled charmingly as he walked away.

"So how are you Christine?" He asked, looking at me intently.

"Frustrated," I sighed, "My dance instructor won't even let me try dancing again, even though the new opera opens in three weeks and I still have to rehearse, and…" I cut myself off abruptly. I had just about told him about Erik!

I attempted to catch myself smoothly, "And I really didn't want to have bruises and scrapes across my face for this date." I looked down at my lap.

"Christine," He reached across the table and stroked my cheek. It hurt a little bit, but I didn't mind. "You look stunning."

I grabbed the hand that was touching my face and rest our clasped hands on the table. "Thank you."

We stared at each other intensely for a moment before I decided to lighten up the mood. "So how do they know you so well here?"

"I come here with my mother every month. We came nearly every week before I moved out." He smiled. "Once you taste the food you'll know why… Do you know what you want to eat?"

"Why don't you order for me since you seem to be such an expert?" I smiled flirtatiously.

"I'm hardly an expert." He answered modestly, "But I think you should get the eight course tasting dinner… The food is absolutely marvelous."

Edward came back with our drinks and took our order, then promptly left. I wasn't used to being addressed as "miss" and treated like royalty, so the entire experience was incredibly flattering. Raoul and I chatted easily through the eight course meal, although he kept the talk superficial… Not delving into my time with my father or anything too important, just asking mundane little things about myself.

"One good thing did come out of this though," I smiled and gestured at the tensor bandage still on my wrist. "I went to visit the lady I saved the other day, and she is the sweetest lady I have ever met in my life. Her daughter and grandchildren are all big shot doctor-lawyer types, and never visit her, so I'm going to start seeing her weekly."

"That's nice," He said enthusiastically, but the enthusiasm didn't quite reach his eyes. I could tell he didn't actually care that much… Disappointment stirred in my stomach, but I pushed it away… Maybe he just wasn't enthusiastic about things like that.

"So anyways," He continued. "My family has been coming here since it opened…" He continued, and I tried not be irritated that he changed the subject to suit himself.

He ordered several more glasses of champagne, and Edward recommended some of their special virgin drinks for me, which I easily tried. I was already feeling incredibly conscious about how much a place like this cost, and kept trying to decline the extra drinks, but Raoul insisted.

By the time we were finally ready to go, it was past ten o'clock. Raoul barely glanced at the bill as he passed Edward his credit card, but I managed to catch the price written at the bottom of the receipt…

_$765! _I nearly choked on the last sip of my drink. Raoul paid as much for one dinner as I paid for my rent… A blush crept up my cheeks. How could someone spend over $700 on me?

"Are you ready to leave Christine?" He smiled, pulling out my chair as I nodded. I took his arm as the same host led us to the door, where Raoul's car was already waiting.

"You must be hot stuff here!" I whispered in his ear, and he laughed.

"My parents are important patrons… They just want me to tell them how wonderful my experience was." He whispered back before helping me into the car.

As we pulled away, I sat in silence, still feeling incredibly guilty about the price of the meal.

"Is anything wrong Christine?" He asked after a few moments of silence. "Did you not enjoy the food?"

"Oh no!" I exclaimed hastily, "I had an absolutely wonderful time… I guess I just felt kind of guilty about the price is all." I blushed furiously at the end.

He chuckled. "When it comes to you, money is no object." He smiled charmingly, gently laying his hand on top of mine. I smiled back at him, entwining my fingers with his.

"Well the food was delicious." I smiled. "And the company was even better… I missed you Raoul."

"I missed you to Christine," He said solemnly. "When will we see each other again?"

"Well, I have rehearsal tomorrow, but if you wanted to stop by in the morning at about nine I could show you around the opera house since I can't dance right now anyways." I smiled… Maybe something good had come of Madame Giry refusing to let me dance.

"That sounds great." He said, "Tomorrow is my day off, so that would work perfectly."

We pulled up at my house far too soon. I was enjoying being with Raoul a lot, and really didn't want to say goodnight.

"Would you like me to walk you up to your apartment?" He asked quietly as he helped me out of the car.

"I would love that." I smiled as he took my hand. As we walked upstairs in comfortable silence, I marveled at how quickly Raoul was becoming an important part of my life again. After talking to him and simply being around him, it was as if we had never even spent any time apart.

Strangely, Meg was already sleeping as I opened out apartment door. I motioned to Raoul to be quiet as I turned to face him… For some reason, I wasn't ready to let him leave.

"Hey Raoul," I whispered, "Would you like to watch a movie?"

"Absolutely," He whispered, and I led him over to our small couch.

"Do you care which one?" I asked, kneeling in front of the tv.

"Nope," He answered quietly. I grabbed the first movie I saw, which happened to be _50 First Dates. _

"I'll be right back…" I started. "I'm just going to change into some comfier clothes."

"I have a change of clothes in the car I'll go grab." He said and walked quickly toward the door.

"Wait!" I called as quietly as I could. "Take my key so I won't have to let you in."

I quickly went into my bedroom, pulling on a pair of my yoga pants and a tank top. I pulled the pins out of my hair and started to quickly put it into a decent looking French braid. By the time I had tamed my hair enough to have it braided, Raoul was already waiting for me on the couch.

He patted the couch right next to him, and I curled up beside him, his arms eagerly coming around me. It was a wonderful feeling.

By the time the movie was half over, I was feeling drowsy, and my eyelids started to droop. Before too long I drifted off to sleep, still in Raoul's arms.

I awoke to sunlight streaming through the open window, disoriented as to why I was on the couch… And lying across a man's chest.

It came back to me in an instant. Raoul and I had dinner together, I invited him to watch a movie, and oh my goodness… I must have fallen asleep on him! I blushed furiously as I quickly sat up; I had fallen asleep on Raoul, and then he had fallen asleep… I had slept the night practically lying on Raoul… This was the first time I had ever stayed the night with a guy.

"Christine?" He mumbled, his eyes slowly drifting open. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I whispered as he slowly sat up. "I am so sorry about falling asleep on you."

"S'okay," He smiled groggily, "That was the best sleep I've had in two years."

"It was for me too." I giggled, just as Meg walked out of her bedroom.

She stopped dead in her tracks, eyeing Raoul and I's disheveled states. She raised her eyebrows as she looked at me, then looked at Raoul, then simply stated, "Okay then…"

"Don't you make assumptions Meg…" I glared at her as Raoul chuckled behind me. "We definitely did not do what you thought we did."

"Oh?" She began pouring herself a bowl of cereal, a smirk plastered across her face.

"No we didn't." I stated firmly, putting my hands on my hips.

"Raoul's still here in the morning… Your clothes are all wrinkled… Your hair is all messed up… His hair is all messed up… What am I supposed to think?" She smiled at me again, perching on the arm rest of the couch. "Did you seriously lose your v-card?"

I blushed furiously. "Meg! We did not have sex!"

Raoul started laughing behind me, obviously finding our uncomfortable conversation amusing. I whirled on him. "What's so funny?!"

"Nothing!" He exclaimed, holding his hands out in front of him.

"Well," Meg stood up and plopped her half-full bowl in the sink. "I just hope for both your sakes you used protection… Pregnant dancers don't go over so well."

I blushed even deeper. "We did not sleep together Meg!" I exclaimed, then paused for a moment. "Well, I guess we did technically _sleep _together… But just sleeping is what I mean! We _slept _together but we didn't SLEEP together… Oh my goodness, I give up!"

I plopped down on the couch, with my head in my hands.

"Don't be ridiculous Christine." Meg laughed, "Of course I know you two didn't have sex… I know you well enough to know that! I just wanted to see you squirm."

I glared at her. "That's just hilarious." I spat, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

She ignored me, as usual. "Now you might want to get change if you want to go down to the café before the theatre with me." She turned and faced Raoul. "You're welcome to come too."

"Sure." Raoul smiled, "I should probably put my dress shirt on though."

"Dress shirt and jeans," I grinned. "Classy,"

"Well I'm not wearing the suit." He retorted as he went into the bathroom.

I ran into my room, quickly pulling on a black camisole and navy blue, full length cardigan. After pulling on some skinny jeans, brushing my hair out and applying a bit of mascara, I was ready to go.

Raoul and Meg were already waiting for me when I finished, chatting easily.

"Well, let's go." I said enthusiastically as the three of us walked out the door. Once we hit the lobby, Raoul grabbed my hand. I smiled up at him as Meg rolled her eyes at us.

"Ugh," She groaned, walking ahead of us. "Couples! This is why I am happily single."

"Oh yeah, that's the reason!" I elbowed Meg playfully. We laughed as we walked into the café, walking straight up to the counter where Sophie was working.

"Morning Sophie!" I exclaimed.

"Morning! I've been so worried about you Chris, Meg told me the other day that you'd gotten hurt! How are you doing?" She began scrubbing out coffee mugs.

"I'm fine," I sighed. "Already healing."

"Good," She smiled, looking appreciatively at Raoul. "And who is this fine gentleman?"

Raoul chuckled, "I'm Raoul," He held out his hand to shake Sophie's.

Sophie shook his hand enthusiastically, grinning. "I'm Sophie." She turned to look at me. "Quite the catch you've got here Christine!"

I blushed lightly, smiling up at Raoul. "I really do."

"Oh my goodness Sophie!" Meg exclaimed. "They've been being all couple-y all morning and they just got together last night… It is so annoying!"

"Just because you can't get a boyfriend…" I muttered with a smile.

"I resent that remark." She grabbed a plastic butter knife and pointed it in my direction.

"Enough ladies," Sophie chuckled, "I'm assuming I'm getting you two the usual?"

Meg and I both nodded.

"And what can I get for you?" She turned to Raoul.

He looked at the menu for just a moment. "A London Fog please."

"Coming right up."

Sophie whipped up our coffees in no time, and before we knew it we were heading through the cold to the theatre.

**AN: **Here is another update on Friday, just as I promised Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Once again, I can't describe how much I appreciate you taking that extra time to review my work; it really helps if I ever get writer's block.

So the first three reviewers get previews again and if I get enough reviews I might even update on Christmas, and on next Friday as a little Christmas gift to you all

Please review, and thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Her name is Christine Daae," Hades spoke, and my heart stopped.

It took every ounce of acting skill I possessed to sound nonchalant about the situation. "And what do you plan to do?"

"I'm sending one of our men to question her… We need to know if she knows anything, the whole thing seems too fishy to ignore. A nineteen year old girl attacking a full grown man simply out of the goodness of her heart? That's just ridiculous." He snorted.

Obviously he didn't know Christine like I did, but this comment still made me angry. Christine really was that good. She had put herself at risk to save someone she didn't even know, simply because she felt it was her responsibility.

It took me a minute to realize that Hades was waiting for a response.

"Of course," I snorted back. "However, I think it would be in our best interest for the girl not be harmed… She already has enough attention because of the incident in the first place, and harming her would bring unwanted attention to ourselves."

"Good thinking Phantom." Hades said, "I shall order Buquet not to harm the girl."

"Buquet?" I choked, immediately catching myself and trying to make my voice sound like a sneer. "Do you honestly think a man as disgusting as Buquet would not harm a young girl?"

"He won't if he knows what's good for him."

"I still don't think it's wise," I advised.

"He is the best person for the job, he is even employed at the opera house she works at." He spoke with pride, like he was brilliant. Self –important asshole.

"When do you plan to start?" I asked, irritated.

"Friday," He responded, "So we can dig up any other information that might pop up."

"I have business to attend to," I clipped. "Until next time."

He didn't even have a chance to respond before I hung up the phone.

Panic started to consume me and my face went even paler than it already was. Disgusting, horrible, sleezy Buquet was being sent after MY Christine, and there was no way he wouldn't harm her.

I was going to have to keep a constant watch over her, even if it meant following her straight to her apartment every day…. And I had until Thursday to start formulating a plan. Whatever happened, I had to make sure Christine remained completely oblivious to all this.

I stayed seated for a moment, my brain concocting several different plans at once. My mind was incredibly systematic, and had never been confronted with this type of panic before… It was an incredibly confusing feeling.

I settled on writing another letter to Andre and Firmin… Christine would be able to sing in another week, and Hannibal opened in about two weeks.

_Dear Mr. Andre and Mr. Firmin,_

I wrote in my typical cursive, but my hand was shaking slightly.

_You have not followed my instructions._

_ I am aware Christine Daae is currently unable to sing, but come another week she will be, and then she will replace Carlotta in Hannibal._

_ You will follow my instructions if you value both yourselves and this opera house._

_ OG_

I placed the letter on their desk, grinning with satisfaction… Short and threatening, just the way I liked it.

Having accomplished that, I stole into my lair, for once not feeling like playing my piano. For some reason I was exhausted, and I simply felt like curling up under the covers. Sleep quickly overtook me.

I watched Christine Daae arrive at the theatre early that morning, scared to even take my eyes off her. She took her place on the side of the stage watching the dancers rehearse, a look of longing plain on her face.

My spot high in the roof of the theatre gave me a perfect view of the entire stage, so as soon as Buquet arrived, I could see where he was.

He stood behind a curtain backstage, just observing everything that was going on. Even he wasn't stupid enough to try anything while Christine was with people, so she was safe for the time being.

He crept around backstage, never taking his filthy eyes off my Christine… I fought the urge to jump down there right at that moment and strangle the disgusting waste of air.

A loud noise broke me out of my murderous revelry. The idiot Buquet had knocked a set piece over backstage, and Madam Giry stormed over to him, screaming at his stupidity.

Christine's friend took this opportunity to talk to her, and I watched as Christine's eyes lit up with excitement. I couldn't hear her over Madam Giry's screaming… What was she so excited about?

The rehearsal was over quickly, and I prepared to follow Christine to her and Meg's apartment. The two girls were two of the last people to exit the theatre, and they walked through the street, chatting loudly.

I was an expert at not being seen. By keeping to the shadows on the side of the street, I was able to follow them all the way back to their apartment without being detected.

The apartment building however, was a different story. It was decently secured, with not easily climbable fixtures on the outside of it… Perhaps I needed to install one of my one way windows into her room…

For the time being, I settled on guarding the door of the apartment.

Nearly three hours past with nobody showing up at the apartment, but at 7:00 a gaudy, ridiculously ostentatious car pulled up at the curb, a smartly dressed boy stepping out of it. Judging by the way he was looking at his watch, he was picking someone up.

I snorted softly. My Christine would never be caught with such a ridiculously showy man, who walked with such an air of arrogance. Everything about him, from the way he strode with his nose in the air, to the obviously expensive tailored suit, to the ridiculously expensive car, screamed "Spoiled rich boy."

This is why I was so shocked when he emerged five minutes later with my Christine on his arm… how had the fop managed to deceive someone as bright as Christine?

However, seeing her with this ridiculous fop wasn't the main reason my heart stopped.

I had never seen anyone more beautiful in my entire existence. Somehow she had tamed her usually wild curls into a graceful hairdo that framed her delicate facial features, and the dress she was wearing extenuated her petite figure. My gaze travelled down to her largely exposed legs that looked incredibly long in the petite silver shoes she was wearing. She was marvelous.

And climbing into a car with the fop.

Anger bubbled in me as he looked her over appreciatively while she wasn't looking, anger clouding my brain so much I almost forgot to get in my car and follow them.

I followed at a far enough distance that I wouldn't be detected, but close enough that I could still see Christine chatting and laughing. The boy didn't even have enough sense to put the top of the car up to protect Christine's beautiful curls, but they somehow managed to stay in place… Female hair products truly astounded me.

When they pulled up in front of _Daniel_, I nearly snorted allowed with contempt. Why would Christine allow herself to be taken to such an expensive place, when the boy was obviously just trying to show off his family's money?

I allowed a couple of groups go in before I went to get my own table within the restaurant. Luckily the waiter led me to a table relatively near Christine and her fop, but not without casting curious glances at my mask.

The waiter walked over to another server and whispered in his ear, casting an obvious glance in my direction. I sighed heavily… Going out in public was such a pain; this is why I kept to my opera house.

The second server came up to me to take my drink order, obviously staring at my face.

"What may I get for you Mister…?" He questioned, looking at me eagerly for a name.

"Smith," I said, sounding as removed as I possibly could. "A good dinner wine should do nicely; I shall trust your choice."

"Yes sir," He said nervously and walked away, whispering something to the first waiter.

I glanced over at Christine, and saw the fatuous boy stroke her lovely cheek, and then place his large hand over her small one… It made me want to strangle him.

My Christine should not be with someone as obviously senseless as this fop, and it made me sick to see her with another man.

I had to suffer through the rest of the evening with countless stares from waiters and other patrons, as well as watching the fop flirt mercilessly with my Christine… and worse, her flirting back. The only mercy was the food at _Daniel_ was actually fairly wonderful, and I actually did enjoy the meal.

When I saw the fop hand his waiter his credit card, I motioned a server over and paid the bill, following a fair distance behind them out the door.

Unfortunately, whoever the fop was, his family must have been important patrons since his car was already waiting outside the restaurant. This meant that by the time my car was retrieved for me they had already driven away into the night.

Panic started to blossom in my gut as I sped as quickly as I could through New York City roads to Christine's apartment, not liking her being out of my sight. For some reason traffic was against me, and it took me nearly double the time to return as it did to arrive at the restaurant.

When I finally parked my car in the alley it always stayed in and took my stakeout place outside the door of her apartment, I was surprised to see the fop's car still there. He should have left by now.

Anxiously, I stole into the apartment building, coming to a stop outside Christine's door.

Silence.

Deciding to take a chance, I easily picked the lock and slowly pushed the door open, ready to disappear at the slightest movement.

Nothing.

I stole into the room, startled to see Christine and her fop sleeping, curled together on the small sofa. It made me sick.

I stared at his hands on her, and her body against him, and an overwhelming sense of longing came over me. I wanted to be the one holding her petite body, locking her in my embrace, taking her to dinner, and simply being with her…

I kneeled on the floor and stared at her, holding my hand over my heart as so many new emotions threatened to completely overwhelm me. A single tear trickled down my face.

What was this? I wiped the tear away, staring at it on the tip of my finger… It was the first tear I had shed in over twenty years, and all because of something I felt for Christine. Was it love? I didn't know… Love was such a foreign concept to me, I doubted I could even recognize it. However, it was more than simple desire.

What I did recognize was an all-consuming need for her. I _needed_ her to sing for me… I couldn't let this music and these emotions I had so recently discovered go dormant again. It wouldn't happen.

As quickly as it had come, the warm feeling fled, replaced by a much more familiar, dark emotion. There was no way a creature as splendid and angelic as Christine Daae could ever love a monster as dark and twisted as me. The darkness in my soul would never be able to satisfy the light within hers.

However, one thing was for sure; I would not lose her, especially not to the fop. I needed her to complete my song, and the fop would not steal that away from me.

I leaned over him, putting my hands around his neck as I would to strangle him… It would be so easy, just a quick squeeze to cut off the airways, or a quick twist to break the vertebrae in his neck. Slowly I pulled my hands away, looking to the angel sleeping in his arms.

I couldn't do that to Christine; allow her to wake in the arms of a dead man. Her heart couldn't take it, and I could never hurt her like that. My tactics would have to be different this time.

I stared at her sleeping form, a plan beginning to formulate in my mind.

No matter what I had to do, I would possess her; body, mind and soul. Even if I had to resort to some drastic measures, she would be mine.

**AN: **Merry Christmas everyone! As promised, here is another update… There will still be an update on Friday as well Thanks to everyone for reviewing… I didn't have a chance to send out chapter previews since I was working in such a short time frame, but the first three reviewers from the last chapter, and the first three reviewers for this chapter will get previews.

A note for the anonymous reviewer "Mask"…

In response to your review, Christine is naïve, and vulnerable and maybe even a little bit stupid at this point… She is still mourning the loss of her father, and is willing to cling to anything that could possibly be attached to him… Even a strange voice that claims to be her angel. For what I am trying to accomplish, I don't feel I'm moving too fast, and I am trying to focus on their feelings (that was good advice), but you only read chapter one… So obviously it's probably going to seem a little quick without seeing how it fits into the big story. I do appreciate the criticism, but I wish it would have been more constructive, as opposed to just negative. Telling me to rewrite my story is not something that I view as constructive, and the fact that you didn't sign in to an account tells me that you probably realized this was pretty much a flame, and would probably offend me… If you have some genuine criticism, please don't flame, and sign in so I can contact you and explain myself, or even ask for further advice

I don't want this to look like I can't take criticism… I can, I promise you. I was just angry at how negative this review was phrased, and the fact that I am having to put this in the author's note since you didn't sign in.

Anyways, that's the end of my rant Thank you to all the people who faithfully read this story… I love you all! Merry Christmas, and please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Once we arrived at the theatre, I asked Raoul to wait for me by the main stage while I dropped my bag in the dancer's dressing room.

Meg and I were usually the first to arrive, so as usual the corridor full of dressing rooms was completely empty. I reached the end of the hallway where the dancers' room was located and deposited my bag, walking quickly out the door so as not to leave Raoul waiting.

I began to walk quickly until I heard a voice coming from the closet across the hall, obviously talking on the phone. I stopped, curiosity getting the better of me. All I distinctly heard was my name.

Carefully, I stepped lightly toward the closet door, pressing my ear to the wood.

Luckily, there was nobody in the hallway to see me eavesdropping. After listening for only a few seconds, the voice on the other side was obviously Joseph Buquet… It was impossible to forget such a disgusting voice.

"Why am I bothering with one stupid little dancer?" He scoffed. "So she took down one of your best muggers… It's not like she knows anything about your crime ring or whatever you want to call it."

I heard a man loudly shushing him over the phone.

"Don't get your panties in a twist," He snorted. "There's no one around."

_"Back to Daae…" _The voice on the phone said. My stomach dropped.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… You want me to interrogate Christine Daae to make sure that she doesn't know anything about the mugger she attacked, which she doesn't. How would a nineteen year old girl know about a bloody network of hired goons? Especially a goody-goody like Christine Daae!" his voice rose at the end.

_"SHHHHH!"_

"Whatever," He muttered.

_"You must not hurt her… to be suspicious."_ I didn't catch the entire sentence over the pounding in my ears. What was he involved in?! What had I gotten myself involved in?!

"And if she does know?"

_"Do as you will… We can't have her blabbing to her rich little boyfriend."_

"Alrighty boss," He oozed, a sneer obvious in his voice.

The fear coursing through my veins temporarily paralyzed me, and I realized slightly too late that he was leaving the closet. As the knob began to turn, I took off running down the hall as the door swung open behind me, panic completely consuming me.

"Hey!" He yelled from behind me, but I didn't even stop to turn around.

Once I was among the rest of the crowd I stopped to catch my breath, feeling like I was going to faint. I attempted to slow my heart rate down and get control over myself, but my mind couldn't stop replaying what I had just heard, and I began to hyperventilate.

I stood there for a moment as I struggled to calm my breath; One thing was glaringly obvious, the less they thought I knew, the better. That meant I certainly couldn't tell Meg or Raoul about anything that just happened. I had to act like everything was fine. I focussed on deep breathing, putting my hand on my pounding head.

"Christine?" Meg walked up to me with Raoul at her side. "Are you alright? You look shaken."

"I'm fine," I plastered on the most authentic looking smile as I could. "My ribs are just a little sore today."

"Okay," She smiled, but obviously didn't believe me. "If you feel like talking about anything, even your ribs, I'm here."

"Of course," I smiled back, grabbing Raoul's hand in order to change the subject; he seemed completely oblivious to my false cheeriness. "How would you like the grand tour of the Opera Populaire?"

"Lead the way," He gestured in front of him with his other hand as I led him through the backstage doors.

"This way is all the dressing rooms," I pointed down the hallway I had just come from, struggling not to sound as terrified as I felt, but my voice cracked a little. He didn't even notice.

"Through this door right here is all the old scenery pieces and costumes from past performances. We can go in if you'd like." I smiled.

"Sure," He grinned and pushed the heavy door open.

"Wow," He gasped, gently grabbing the skirt of one of the giant opera ballgowns. "I can't believe people actually wear these."

"They're so heavy." I sighed, "I've tried one on before, just for fun."

"I think I'd like to see that," He smiled, holding up the monstrous dress.

"Maybe someday," I said coyly, turning away from him to show him some of the other scene pieces.

We left that room after a while of wandering through the costumes and scenery, and I grabbed his hand again to lead him to the doors to the basement.

"What's down here?" He questioned as I led him down a narrow staircase.

"You'll see," I teased once we reached the bottom, walking through a narrow corridor. We walked for a few minutes in silence until I reached a circular room with a raised floor.

"We're in the trapdoor system," I smiled. "This circular platform rises up onto the stage. I would show you, but we would probably scare the crap out of some dancers."

"That would be kind of fun..." He joked, and I punched him lightly on the shoulder. He laughed, looking around at all the passages. "Where to next?"

"Ummm," I thought for a moment, "Would you like to go up on the catwalk?"

"Sounds fun," He laughed and I took him to the stairway that led directly from the basement to the catwalk.

Once we reached the top, I motioned to the rehearsals going on below us.

"Wow," He breathed, "It's amazing up here."

"I come up here a lot when I want to be alone." I murmured, lost in thought. "It's so serene, being so far removed from everyone, yet still being able to see everything that was happening."

"I understand," He said, sounding vaguely empathetic, but for some reason doubt about this simple statement clouded my mind. I could tell by his voice that he didn't really understand; He was around people all the time, acting charming and dazzling as he always seemed to do. He literally lived off people's reactions to him, and always had.

I wasn't saying that is a horrible thing, but I'm quite different. As much as I loved being around people, I had always had a little bit more of a wallflower personality. I analyzed everything and everyone around me, viewing the world through incredibly detailed vision. So, I didn't think he truly understood the beauty of being alone and simply observing the world around you.

"Christine?" He waved his hand in front of my vacant eyes.

"Sorry," I shook my head, pushing up from the railing I had been leaning on. "Just thinking."

"I can tell." He chuckled. "Would you like to head back down?"

_No… _"Sure," I shrugged heading back to the stairs.

By the time I finished showing him around the entire opera house and answering all his questions, rehearsals were over and all of the dancers except Meg had already left.

"About time you two!" She yelled at us as we approached her.

"Sorry!" I called, "I just left my bag in the dressing room… Wait here with Raoul?"

"I'm sure I can manage that," She smiled at Raoul, who just laughed his regular, charming laugh.

"Now be good Meg!" I yelled laughingly as I scurried over to the dressing room.

As soon as I was alone fear of what I had heard earlier started to set in. Should I even be alone after that phone call?

_Don't be stupid, _my rational brain argued, _You can't make sure you're with people all the time, especially when you can't even tell them what's wrong!_

But fear still clouded over my mind and I practically fled into the dressing room, fumbling to get my bag and jacket as quickly as I could. In my hurry, my fingers fumbled with the door of the small closet in the room. I was so focussed on such a meaningless task that I didn't even hear the dressing-room door swing open.

Someone coughed behind me, and I whipped around, dropping my things in the process. Joseph Buquet stood in the entrance to my dressing room, closing and locking the door behind him, a leer plain on his disgusting face.

"H-hello," I stuttered, trying and failing miserably at sounding confident. "Can I help you with anything?"

"You and I both know why I'm here girlie." He sneered. "I know you were eavesdropping on my little phone conversation."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I protested, but my voice cracked.

"I've had my eye on you for a while Christine," He started, advancing toward me, giving me no choice but to back up. "A little goody-goody with a serious hero complex… And then I found out about you taking our mugger down and was hoping I'd be the one to 'talk' to you about it."

"It's a shame you had to be so noisy," He sighed mockingly, "If you wouldn't have known anything you would have been kept out of this."

"I don't know anything," I protested frantically, my fear had me almost crying.

I began to back away from him, but too soon my back hit the wall, trapping me on the far side of the room. He stood a couple feet away, his eyes trailing down my body. I shivered, unable to help the reaction… It was like he was undressing me with his eyes.

"Get away from me," I warned, trying to sound menacing, but it came out as more of a squeak than a threat. As he came toward me I put my arms out in front of me, trying to push him away, but he was a lot bigger than my petite frame.

He placed his hands on either side of my head and pressed his body against mine.

"Get off me!" I screamed, flailing as much as I could. He just laughed darkly leaning his face toward mine. I screamed as loud as I could, but I know in my mind that I was too far away for anyone to hear me.

I whipped my head to the side, struggling to free my arms that were pinned at my side. He grabbed my chin with one of his hands and turned my face toward his, bring his lips down onto mine. I flailed and kicked, but all to no avail. My lips already felt swollen and bruised.

I was completely helpless.

He pulled back from my lips temporarily to get a breath, laughing manically. His hands began to travel down my waist…

"ERIK!" I shrieked as loud as I could, earning me another putrid laugh.

"No one can hear you…" He breathed, bringing his face down to mine again as I struggled.

And suddenly he was gone.

Hesitantly I opened my frightened eyes and saw Buquet standing three feet away from me, two long, slender hands around his throat.

Even though I had never seen this man before, I knew immediately who it was.

My angel had come to my rescue.

His hands grasped Buquet's throat tighter, pressing down on his wind pipe. His eyes began to bug out as he grasped uselessly at my angel's hands.

"Angel," I squeaked in a panic as I realized what was happening. "Don't!"

He looked at me, his menacing eyes softening slightly. He looked at Buquet with the most frightening face I had ever seen and threw him to the ground, Buquet gasping for breath.

"You ever lay a hand on her again," He said quietly, but so much terror filled his words that even I was left terrified; it was as if everything anyone had ever feared was present in his voice. "And it will be the last thing you ever do."

The horrid man nodded hastily, scrambling to get out through the door.

As soon as he was gone I flung myself into my angel's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He tensed immediately, then hesitantly returned the embrace, awkwardly patting my shoulder.

"Erik," I sobbed, tears staining his black suit. Terror still consumed me, and I felt myself almost unable to believe what had just happened. Someone had assaulted me, and I had been completely helpless to do anything about it… I couldn't stop myself from crying, no matter how hard I tried.

"Shhh," He soothed, he voice completely melodic. "It will be alright Christine…He will never touch you again."

"If you hadn't have come…" I wept, but he cut me off softly.

"I did come though my dear." He placed his finger under my chin as light as a feather, tenderly lifting my chin so my watery eyes could meet his. "You are safe… Nothing will hurt you so long as I am here to protect you."

He wore a porcelain mask that covered half of his face, making it difficult to see his facial expressions some of the time. If I had seen it on anyone else, I would have thought it strange, but on Erik it simply added to his mystery.

He had the most splendid eyes I had ever seen. They were a beautiful amber, like circles of pure gold. They darkened toward his pupils, making his eyes look dark and incredibly mystifying. However, it wasn't just the colour of his eyes that made them look so magnificent.

In his eyes, I saw the sadness of the world.

There was so much sorrow and darkness in his eyes that my heart nearly stopped. How could and angel with such beautiful music have such incredible torment in his eyes, which are often said to be the windows to the soul?

It was absolutely amazing.

Without thinking I reached my hand up to touch his mask, but Erik's hand immediately shot out and stopped me.

"Thank you angel," I whispered without breaking eye contact.

"Anytime, my dear." He whispered, his eyes boring into mine. We stood like that for what seemed like eternity before footsteps sounded outside the door.

"I must go my dear," He sighed, his voice full of remorse. "If you would like to see me again face to face, come back to this room at our normal lesson time tonight."

And he disappeared.

I was unable to marvel at how he could have disappeared from right in front of me, because a moment later Raoul walked in.

He stood there for a moment, alarm setting in as he saw my disheveled state, puffy eyes and swollen lips.

"Christine!" He exclaimed, running to the couch and pulling me into his arms. "What's wrong babe?"

_I like "My dear" a lot better than "babe…" _I thought suddenly, trying to banish the thought from my mind. I relayed the whole story to him, excluding the reason behind the attacks.

"I'm so sorry," He said, rubbing my back consolingly. "I promise you, I will have that man behind bars."

"How will you do that?" I sobbed. "You're a medic."

"Christine," He scoffed, causing me to blush since he obviously thought it was a stupid question. "When your family has money, you can get things done."

I sat there sitting across his lap for a few moments, drying my tears.

Even though I was sitting with an amazing man and boyfriend, something was… missing. Despite how I felt about him, it wasn't his face that filled my mind, but a half-masked face with haunting amber eyes. My angel's protective embrace, feeling like it could shield me from anything, his powerful voice, his unseen beauty, his terrible sorrow…

There was something seriously wrong with my life.

**AN: **As promised, here is another update! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter… I was so happy to get that many reviews Previews to the first five reviewers this time since I was so happy about the number of reviews on the last chapter Love you all! Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Pure, uninterrupted rage filled my soul.

That disgusting, revolting, repulsive man had touched MY Christine! His ghastly lips and hands had come in contact with her beautiful, angelic flesh. It was sickening.

I had never heard as much terror as I had in her one scream. Nor had I seen anyone cry like that before. Fury clenched in my heart. A demonic being like Jospeh Buquet could not be allowed to get away with touching my angel.

I would kill him.

I would mar every inch of his sordid flesh that had touched Christine.

He would feel my wrath.

He would pay with his life for disturbing the life of my Christine.

I stormed through my lair into a room that had lay undisturbed for over five years. I flung open the door so hard it tore off its hinges.

"Damn it!" I growled, kicking the door out of my way.

My Punjab lasso sat on the table exactly where I had left it all those years ago, a thick layer of dust coating the top of it. I held it in my right hand, feeling death radiate off it. Something similar to fear welled up in my stomach as I stared at the killing machine. I hadn't killed with it since I put it in this room five years ago… And it wasn't like that had been an enjoyable experience.

The craze of rage clouded my vision before I could think too long about it, taking over my rational mind in a frenzy.

My angel had been hurt, and someone was going to die.

I walked quickly and purposefully into one of the many trap doors I had in this theatre, searching for my prey.

A little voice tried to quip up in the back of my mind, but the monster of anger dwelling inside me quickly silenced it. I had one purpose: kill the tormentor of my angel.

_"ERIK!" Came her bloodcurdling scream, causing the most sincere terror I had ever felt._

_ My Christine was in trouble, and I was her only hope for rescue._

_ I fled through the passages faster than I even knew my legs could carry me toward her scream, tears almost running down my face._

_ Nothing could happen to her… I needed her to be fine. She would be fine… _

_ I saw through my one way window the most horrifying thing I had ever seen in my life. The fear I felt at that one sight was enough to floor me, even in my panic._

_ Jospeph Buquet stood there, his putrid, oversized body crushing my beacon of light against the wall, her lips swollen having been obviously kissed already. His sickening hands touching my angel's waist, leaning into kiss her soft lips again…_

_ Tears streamed down her face._

_ A kind of mania overcame me. _

_ I leaped from my hiding place, wrapping my skilled fingers around his wind pipe and easily throwing his weight off my Christine. I held him in front of me, feeling something akin to joy as I watched him struggling for breath._

_ But an angelic little voice said something beside me. _

_ "Angel," She squeaked, "Don't" _

_ I stared at the monster in front of me for a moment, then turned to see my angel. _

_ She looked terrified, looking at Buquet with fear. After everything she had just been through, I couldn't let her watch me kill a man. It would destroy someone as good as her._

_ I threw Buquet to the ground. Nearly smiling in satisfaction as his fat body wriggled away from me._

_ "You ever lay a hand on her again, and it will be the last thing you do." I said in the most menacing voice I had ever spoken. He deserved to die, but I was being merciful because of Christine…_

_ That did not mean he was safe. _

_ Once he scampered out of the room, I turned to face Christine, to find her wrapping her arms around me. I tensed without thinking about it._

_ It was the first time I had ever been embraced._

_ It was the most glorious feeling I had ever felt._

_ All the anger temporarily flooded out of my body, as I tentatively returned her wonderful embrace. _

_ "Erik," She sobbed, clinging to me as if her life depended on it, her tears staining my shirt._

_ "Shhhh," I tried to console her, praying that I was doing it right. "It will all be alright… He will never touch you again."_

_ She continued to weep… Had my attempt at consoling her not worked?_

_ "If you hadn't have come…" She cried, fear so evident in her voice it was tangible._

_ "I did come though my dear." I cut her off gently, wanting to do something to make that fear in her voice. "You are safe… Nothing will hurt you so long as I am here to protect you."_

_ As I said the last sentence I tenderly lifter her chin up to meet my eyes… I had to see that she was okay. Anxiety coursed through my veins at the prospect of her looking at my masked face._

_ For some reason, she didn't even appear surprised._

_ Her eyes briefly took in my mask, but then she directly met my gaze, a look of awe and curiosity on her face. She stared for what felt like eternity, her gaze seeming to bore into my soul._

_ "Thank you angel." She whispered, rooting me to the spot. It was the first time I had ever been thanked in my entire life._

_ She hugged me again (I was starting to actually enjoy the physical contact) when there was a knock at the door. Unable to be discovered, I made a quick exit, promising to see her again face to face that night if she so desired. _

_ And I left, my emotions still reeling._

I stopped in the middle of the passage, for some reason unable to travel forward. My knees were literally frozen. What had come over me?

All I could picture was Christine's face, and the look of horror on her face as my hands squeezed the life from Joseph Buquet.

Slowly, I looked down at my hands grasping my Punjab lasso, my knuckles white from gripping it so tightly. So slowly that it took several minutes, I unclasped my hand…

The lasso fell to the floor.

I fell to my knees sobbing as all the rage left me, filling me with intense sorrow.

I couldn't do it.

I couldn't kill him.

Not after picturing that look on Christine's face… He wouldn't be so lucky if he ever touched her again, but I couldn't directly defy her wishes like that.

Carefully, I stood, briefly pulling the mask away from my face to wipe my tears away. I stood there for several minutes, staring at the Punjab.

If I picked it up again, I wouldn't be able to control the murderous urge to use it on Buquet… So after a few difficult minutes I simply turned around and walked away, leaving it lying in a heap on the floor.

I walked aimlessly through the passageways for hours, simply thinking. A new feeling seemed to be growing on the corners of my heart, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was.

Whatever the feeling, it hurt. Was it remorse perhaps? In all the literature I had read, this could match the description of the feeling. What was Christine doing to me?

Christine! How long had I been in the passageways? What if she had come to see me and I had missed her?

I approached the one way mirror passage in her dressing room… Nerves clenching in my stomach. What if she didn't even want to see me?

What if she didn't come?

As I approached the mirror, I slowly opened the door, fear clenched in my stomach…

"Erik!" Came the most beautiful sound I had ever heard in my life.

She had come. She was here, right in front of me.

"Good evening Christine," I spoke calmly, my voice not betraying a hint of my relief.

"How are you?" She asked sweetly, sitting on her small sofa.

"I believe that question is better directed at you." I spoke, concern seeping into the edges of my voice. I stood across from her in the room, awkwardly standing by her vanity.

"Well I asked you first," She said softly, sorrow and fear tinged her voice, but her voice instantly picked up her usual cheerfulness. "Don't stand over there… Come sit down!"

It was false joy, that much I could tell. Christine was such a good actress that I doubted anyone who didn't truly know her would have noticed; hence, why the stupid fop had let her come somewhere alone.

I slowly walked over to the sofa, sitting tight against the opposite arm rest.

"So how are you?" She asked again, obviously trying to break the awkward silence between us.

"I have certainly been better." I answered cryptically, not wanting her to see how concerned I was for her.

"Well that's an incredibly cryptic answer." She snorted.

"How are you?" I asked carefully.

"I've been better," she whispered, obviously trying to be funny; but there was no humour in her voice.

"I'm sure you have been." I remarked quietly.

That was all it took.

Tears welled up in her bright green eyes, but they didn't fall. She spoke softly, as if she was afraid to say it out loud. "I'm absolutely terrified."

"Don't be afraid Christine." Without thinking, I moved closer to her and wiped away the single tear that was trailing down her cheek. Immediately, I pulled my hand back.

Where had that impulse come from?

"I have a package of Kleenex here somewhere…" She mumbled through her tears, jumping up and walking quickly over to her small make-up table. Shame burned through me; I had let my horrible flesh touch her, and she had jumped away.

I watched her as she rumbled through drawers in her make-up table, her actions almost frantic.

"I know it was here…" She sobbed, her tears beginning to flow faster. I just watched her frantically throw things out of her table and her bag, completely at a loss for what to do. From what I knew, this behaviour was something akin to shock, but my readings had never prepared me for when someone went into this kind of state. Books certainly couldn't prepare you for this onslaught of emotions.

"Damn it!" She yelled, crying freely now. "I can't find it!"

Acting on complete impulse, I leapt to my feet and crossed the space between us in a moment, pulling her into my arms as she cried.

"I need to find the stupid tissues." She cried, obviously not realizing how illogical she sounded… It was textbook shock/post-traumatic stress; focussing so much on such a menial task like that.

"Christine," I said steadily and confidently, determined not to show how much at a loss I was. "You don't need to find the Kleenex package… Come sit down on the couch please."

She willingly obeyed, and I congratulated my ability to sound like I knew what I was doing, regardless of how frantic I was feeling myself.

She cried without speaking for almost half an hour. Obviously she had kept all of these emotions inside her all day, and the fop hadn't done anything to help her… That bastard had been too busy playing hero and thinking of himself to actually think about how she was feeling. Anger welled up inside me, but I pushed it down, Christine needed me not to be angry right now.

"D-do you want to talk about it?" I asked, stumbling over the first word. The phrase felt so strange on my tongue; Me, Erik Destler, the Phantom of the Opera, asking a teenage girl if she wanted to talk about her feelings?!

It was obviously the cue she'd been waiting for.

"I'm such a naïve, helpless little girl!" She exclaimed. "I was nearly raped, and couldn't even do something to him to make him hesitate long enough to get away! I didn't try to get away as soon as he came in the room either, I was too damn scared to do anything but cower! I should have been able to do something, anything!"

"Christine," I tried softly to cut her off from this self-abuse.

"Don't you get it Erik!" She screamed, jumping off the couch and running her hands through her curls. "I'm so scared, all the time! Scared to stand up to Carlotta, scared that the few people who I care about that are left will leave me, scared of telling Raoul how much is conceited attitude can bother me sometimes, scared that he'll get bored of me and leave, scared that you'll decide I'm not special and teach someone else, scared of being insignificant." Her voice quieted as shock filled me.

"Scared that I'm just another drop of water in this sea of people, that will just float through the ocean unnoticed until I hit shore… Scared of being nothing." She fell to her knees and began to cry even harder than before.

I sat there for a moment, paralyzed by the shock in me. Christine had always appeared so put together and confident; she was an even better actress than I had thought. Was this why she was so determined to change the world? Simply so she wouldn't fade into oblivion? If I had a million years, I never would have guessed that she felt this way.

And I had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

Slowly, I walked up to her and carefully helped her to her feet. One thing was for sure, I was not at all equipped to deal with this, so I was going to have to resort to the one thing I did know how to do. I moved her right arm into a basic block in front of her face, desperate to change the subject and make her feel better.

"If somebody comes at you, block them with your dominant arm like this." I pushed on her arm for emphasis. "Then your feet are free to try and incapacitate them long enough for you to get away. Either go for the groin, or put your knee into their stomach."

"Plus," I gently grabbed her arm to demonstrate. "In this position, you could also elbow them in the face if you needed to."

She looked hesitant, "I don't think I could kick someone hard enough to actually incapacitate them."

I snorted, unable to help it. "You took down a mugger twice your size Christine!"

"It wasn't me getting attacked though," She protested weakly, "I caught him by surprise."

"You need to transfer your instinct to save others into an instinct to save yourself." I plowed on, ignoring her comment. "You have a fire when defending others Christine, if you can take that feeling and put it into self-preservation you won't freeze up so much if something ever happens to you."

"Okay," She said, still sounding unsure.

"Close your eyes," I commanded.

"Why…?"

"Just do it." She looked at me curiously, then closed her eyes.

"Think back to when you were attacking that mugger," I instructed. "Remember how you felt when you saw that old lady getting hurt by that man."

"Mama Valerius." She whispered.

"What?" I asked, completely confused.

"The woman who was getting attacked, I visited her the other day… And her name is Mama Valerius."

"You visited her?" I asked, completely forgetting about what I was doing.

"Yes," She smiled, opening her eyes. "She is a super sweet woman, but her family never visits her anymore. I'm going to see her again tomorrow."

"That's… Nice?" I didn't know what to say.

She laughed. It was such a wonderful contrast to the tears from earlier, but her face quickly turned serious. "Angel, I was wondering if I could, ummm, tell her about you?"

The question startled me. Christine had never asked to tell anyone, and her telling one old woman couldn't do any harm. Plus, if it would make Christine happy…

"Yes," I said after a few moments. "You may, but only her."

She nodded happily. "I should probably go… Meg will be worried about me." She began to walk toward the door.

"And Christine?" I said hesitantly, terrified of saying what I was going to say.

She stopped and turned around. "Yes?"

"In terms of what you said earlier, I am here to stay; I could never teach anybody else, they would pale in comparison to you. Also, someone as unique and magnificent as you could never fade into oblivion. You are a star in every sense, and anyone worth caring about will stay beside you to see you realize your destiny, and change the world." I stopped, breathing heavily as I awaited her response. I had never complimented someone on such a personal level before.

She smiled the most beautiful smile I had ever seen, and a single tear of slid down her cheek. She walked up to me and looked me in the eyes, her smile making her magnificent green eyes twinkle like tiny stars.

"Thank you Erik," She whispered.

And quickly kissed my unmasked cheek, turning and walking out the door.

I don't know how long I stood there, my cheek tingling where her lips had touched it. Nobody had ever kissed me before, not even my own mother. Without even realizing it, I soon found myself smiling as a feeling of golden warmth spread through my entire body, all the way down to the soles of my feet.

I instantly knew what it was, even though it was something I had never experienced…

Pure happiness.

**AN: **I have to admit, I really like this chapter, and it is the longest chapter yet in Erik`s point of view I hope you all liked it! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! It means so much to me to see that people are enjoying my work!

For those of you who like musicals, I listened to the Sweeney Todd movie soundtrack to get into the darker mood needed for the beginning of this chapter… It's excellent! Who knew Johnny Depp could sing? If you love musicals, or just fantastic movies, you should go see Les Miserables! It is absolutely SPECTACULAR and is now my new favourite movie

Anyways, enough of my rambling Thanks for reading, and please review!


	11. Chapter 11

I walked quickly back to my apartment, my mind still reeling over everything that had just happened.

First of all, I had actually met Erik in person, which was an experience all by itself. Of course, then I had yelled at him. I looked down at the sidewalk and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration; My angel had finally revealed himself to me, and I had acted like some sort of crazed lunatic.

I couldn't help it when I was talking with him… All the feelings I had repressed so as not to worry Raoul and Meg had just coming welling out of me like a tidal wave. Not that Raoul probably would have listened even if I had told him everything I was feeling; Although he heard everything I said, he never truly listened.

I shook my head as I entered the lobby of my building banishing those thoughts. Raoul was a kind, loving man who adored me… Plus, he was the only thing I had left of my father and my childhood. I had nearly loved him then, surely I could learn to love him now.

But as I entered my apartment, it wasn't Raoul on my mind, no, it was the words Erik had spoken to me as I left the theatre.

_"In terms of what you said earlier, I am here to stay; I could never teach anybody else, they would pale in comparison to you. Also, someone as unique and magnificent as you could never fade into oblivion. You are a star in every sense, and anyone worth caring about will stay beside you to see you realize your destiny, and change the world."_

In that simple phrase, he had managed to appease all the insecurity I had been feeling. I had never gotten such profound praise from everyone, especially my incredibly critical angel. The pure sincerity and strength in his eyes had been enough to make me forget all my fears, even if it would turn out to only be temporary.

He was there when I needed him, strong, protective and consoling. I giggled as I thought about the basic self defense moves he had shown me. I wasn't very good at reading him yet, but despite the calm mask he put on, he seemed a little frantic and unsure. I guess the onslaught of womanly emotion would be too much for any man to handle…

I stopped, my hand just inches from my doorknob startled at that thought. It was the first time I had ever thought of Erik as a man, instead of the angel he obviously was. I shook my head again and pushed the door open; I had enough on my mind without doubting something I already knew to be true.

"Christine!" Meg yelled as I walked through the door. "Where were you?! I was worried sick! You didn't answer your phone, so I called Raoul in case you were with him, but he said he dropped you off here…" She ranted, pulling me gently to sit on the couch.

"I was just at singing lessons Meg," I sighed, "Just like I am almost every night."

"You should bring someone with you." She stated firmly, her arms crossed.

"I can handle walking to singing lessons." I retorted.

"After what happened today …" she started.

"I know what happened today!" I exclaimed in frustration, "That doesn't mean you have to treat me like some incapable five year old!"

Meg was silent, looking at her with pure hurt in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, pulling her into a hug. "My emotions are running rampant right now."

"It's okay sweetie," She said with understanding, patting my shoulder as she stood up. "What do you want to do?"

"How about a movie?" I asked, wanting to do something to take my mind off the mess inside my head. Erik's face haunted my thoughts; his eyes, his tenderness, his power, the strength that radiated off him…

"Sounds good." She said cheerfully. "Do you want some tea?"

"I'd love some," I smiled.

"You can pick the movie," She called over from the small kitchen. I walked over and pulled my favourite Disney movie off the shelf and put it in our DVD player.

"So what are we watching?" She asked, sitting down and passing me a mug of green tea.

"Beauty and the Beast." I smiled.

"In a Disney kind of mood?" She laughed.

"Always." I laughed back, curling up on the couch with my steaming mug of tea.

I awoke early the next morning, still lying on the couch next to Meg.

"I really need to stop falling asleep in movies." I muttered, plodding over to the kitchen and starting our ancient coffee maker.

"Christine?" Meg mumbled from over on the couch.

"Just making coffee Meg," I called softly, "You can just stay there and I'll bring it to you."

"Thanks sweetie!" She yelled, flipping on the TV and flipping through channels.

I waited for the ridiculously slow coffee maker to finish, and had just begun cutting Meg and I some fruit for breakfast when there was a knock at the door.

"One second!" I yelled, wiping the sticky fruit just off my hand and opening the door.

"Surprise!" Raoul said, balancing a drink tray with coffee and a plate of breakfast pastries from the café. "I asked Sophie what you guys usually got and brought you breakfast."

"Thanks Raoul," I smiled, taking the drink tray from him. "Meg! Raoul brought us breakfast from the café!"

"Yay!" She squealed, and jumped off the couch to come meet us.

I put the coffee and pastries onto the counter, putting the pastries onto plates. Raoul came up behind me and put his arm around my waist, placing a gentle kiss on the top of my hair; I stiffened for a moment at the contact, and then relaxed into his arms.

"How are you doing?" He asked kindly.

"Alright," I smiled.

"That's good." He smiled, kissing my cheek.

A thought immediately assaulted my mind.

I had kissed Erik on the cheek yesterday… That didn't count as cheating, did it?

_No, _I argued with myself, _That was just an innocent cheek-kiss between friends; A thank you to him for being there for him…_

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, breaking my internal argument.

"Just how delicious these pastries look." I smiled, walking toward the living room as he released my waist.

Meg, Raoul and I all crowded on the couch, Meg and I eagerly stuffing our faces with the warm, fresh pastries.

"So Christine…" Raoul started, "I have something to ask you."

"Oh?" I responded in between bites. "What is that?"

"Well, my brother just got back from Monte Carlo, and my parents and I are meeting him at Daniel to celebrate. They would love to see you, and I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me." He smiled.

"Ummmm," I thought for a moment. I was emotionally exhausted from the day before, and from what I could remember, Raoul's parents could be very hard to get along with.

"I don't know Raoul," I answered a few moments later. "I'm pretty tired."

"Please Christine!" He begged like a little boy. "My parents loved you when we were children, and they really want to see you again! My brother is a super nice guy, and I'm sure you two will get along great…"

"Raoul!" Meg cut him off sharply. "Christine is tired, and probably just doesn't want to go out today, so get over yourself and let her have what she wants!"

My heart filled with gratitude for Meg; she could always be stern when I couldn't.

That is, until I saw Raoul's face.

Sadness and hurt were obvious on his usually smiling features. "I'm sorry Christine," He said with remorse. "I should have realized that you wouldn't want to go anywhere today. I can be so insensitive sometimes…"

"It's okay Raoul," I sighed. "I'll go."

His face lit up. "Are you sure? Because if you're too tired…"

"It's fine," I put on the brightest smile I could muster. "I'd love to see your parents and meet your brother."

"Great!" He exclaimed. "I can buy if you a new dress for tonight, there's this great little boutique that my mom goes to all the time… You're welcome to come too Meg."

"Sounds fun!" I said as enthusiastically as I could, "Just give me a few minutes to get ready."

"Me too," Meg smiled and pulled me into our bathroom.

I had barely brushed one strand of my hair when Meg rounded on me.

"Christine," She said firmly, putting her hands on my shoulders. "You do not have to do something you're not feeling up to just to make Raoul happy."

"I'm not!" I protested. "I do want to see his parents and brother, I'm just tired, that's all."

"You and I both know that's not true." She said softly, but firmly.

"I'm going to go Meg." I sighed, not even trying to argue with her reasons; we both knew she was correct.

"Okay," She gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Just make sure that you put yourself first sometimes sweetie… Even the most selfless people have to take care of themselves from time to time."

"Okay Meg," I smiled, struggling to pull the brush through my hair again as she went to her room to get changed.

Nearly half an hour later, Meg and I were both ready to leave. I wore a pair of comfortable skinny jeans and a white, lace top that was easy to slip in and out of if I was trying things on. She wore a similar pair of jeans with a blue sweater.

"Ready to go?" Raoul asked, jumping up from the couch.

"Yes," I smiled, following him to his car.

The car parked at the curb wasn't Raoul's F-type though, a silver four-door BMW sat at the curb instead.

"Where's the Jaguar?" I asked curiously.

"I borrowed this from my parents," He stated simply, holding the back door open for Meg to climb in. "The Jag only has two seats."

"Oh," I blushed, feeling stupid. "That makes sense."

He laughed, holding the door open for me. Once I was in the car, he closed the door and hopped into the driver's seat.

"So where are we going?" Meg questioned from the back.

"You'll see." He said mysteriously.

We drove for nearly an hour, Raoul weaving expertly through the streets of New York until we reached a small boutique right on the main drag.

He pulled into a parkade and led us down the street and into the boutique.

"Mr. de Chagny!" An middle-aged woman at the counter exclaimed as we walked in. "It has been so long since I've seen you! Your mother was here just yesterday."

"It's nice to see you Elizabeth." He smiled charmingly. He reached over and put his hand on my back, pulling me to his side. "This is my girlfriend, Christine. We need a cocktail dress for her for dinner tonight."

After a second of thought, he turned to Meg. "Do you want a dress too Meg?"

"It's fine," She laughed, "It's not like I'm ever going to wear a fancy cocktail dress anyways."

"I have the perfect thing for you my dear," Elizabeth snapped her fingers and walked purposefully over to one of the racks. She pulled down a black, short bandage dress that made me shudder just looking it. I hated black, and there was no way I was going to wear a dress that short and tight.

"No black," I said immediately, "The colour is too sad."

She looked at me quizzically. "Every girl needs a little black dress darling!"

"Not me," I said stubbornly.

"Alright," The lady sighed, walking over to another corner of the store and pulling several dresses.

Meg laughed behind me. "You didn't like the black hooker dress?" She whispered.

"Not even a little bit." I giggled.

"This way darling!" She called, carrying a stack of dresses to a change room at the back of the store. "Try this one first." She instructed, passing me an orange dress and shoving me into the change room.

The orange dress had a sweetheart neckline that hugged my body tightly until it hit my hips. The tulle skirt gathered at my hips and went out, stopping a couple inches above my knee. It was flashy, ostentatious and couture…

I hated it.

I didn't like the way it clung to my body, tightly extenuating ever curve, and it made me feel like some type of dress-up doll.

I hesitantly walked out of the change room, feeling incredibly stupid. "I don't like this at all." I said, before Elizabeth could even open her mouth.

"Why not?" Cried Elizabeth, walking up to me and smoothing the skirt down. "You look incredibly hot."

I looked to Meg for support, shrugging. "I don't like how it fits so tightly," I started, pinching the fabric at my waist to make my point. "And I don't like how over the top the skirt is."

Raoul smirked at me. "Well, I think you look incredibly sexy."

I blushed, looking at the ground as he chuckled. "It's just not me."

"Okay," Elizabeth clucked, handing me another dress and shoving me back into the change room.

I tried on about ten dresses, all of them the same, flashy style. It was obvious that Elizabeth was getting frustrated that I kept turning down everything that she picked. She couldn't quite get it through her head that I wasn't going to wear a short, tight, ridiculously gaudy dress.

"Try this one!" She exclaimed, pushing me back into the dressing room yet again. "It's different!"

I stood there in the dressing room for a moment, holding up the scrap of fabric she had given me to wear. It was a white and gold, strapless bandage dress that may me blush just looking at it. I sighed, pulling the stretchy fabric up over my body until it sat on my chest where it was supposed to. I turned around slowly, looking in the mirror.

It was different alright.

I cringed, feeling more uncomfortable than I had ever felt in a dress before, and I had thought the first ten were tight! The white ruching pulled tight across every inch of my body, the gold stripes up the sides extenuating my petite curves. The hemline barely sat two inched below my butt, putting in danger of flashing someone if I bent over at all. I felt naked.

"Are you coming out?" Elizabeth yelled impatiently.

"I'd rather not!" I yelled back, wanting nothing more than to get out of the horrible dress.

"Oh come on!" Meg yelled at me, "It can't be that bad!"

"I'm sure you look beautiful!" Raoul chimed in.

I sighed, loudly and slowly pushed open the door.

Silence greeted me as I stepped onto the platform, blushing furiously as I tried to pull the hem of the dress farther down.

Meg finally broke the silence. "Damn Chris!" She exclaimed. "You look hot!"

Elizabeth clapped. "Darling, your body is flawless! You look sophisticated, mature and absolutely stunning!"

"Wow," Raoul breathed, standing up and walking up to me. He stood so close that our bodies were almost touching, and placed his hands so low on my back that they were almost on my butt. "You are so sexy."

"Raoul," I muttered, grabbing his arms and pulling his hands up so they sat on my waist instead.

"Sorry," He smirked, still looking me straight in the eyes.

"Go sit down," I said, jokingly pushing him away.

I had never, ever felt that uncomfortable around Raoul before, and I didn't like it. I didn't like being looked at with lust in his eyes, instead of his usual bright smile. Memories of the day before came flooding back… The lust in Buquet's eyes, his lips pressing painfully on mine, his meaty hands pressing into my waist…

I shuddered.

"Are you okay Chris?" Meg asked immediately, concern obvious on her face.

"Just cold," I smiled, "This dress doesn't cover enough to keep me warm… And I'm not getting it by the way; If I wanted to wear a scrap of fabric I'd just wrap a towel around myself."

"But darling…" Elizabeth began to protest.

"I would like to actually pick something out." I said stubbornly, walking towards the racks.

I looked through several dresses, all of them short and tight. I was about to just give up, and tell Raoul I'd wear my purple dress again when I saw a glimpse of white way in the back corner of the store.

I pulled out the white dress, instantly in love with it. Without a word to Elizabeth I took it into the dressing room, and put it on. As I turned to look in the mirror, I grinned.

The dress was stunning. It was white chiffon, and flowed delicately to just above my knees. It had a sweetheart neckline, and pulled tight across my chest with a single silver strap that wound through the fabric and around to my back. I felt like I was wearing air.

I confidently strode out of the dressing room and stood on the podium, deciding to give a little twirl.

"I would like to get this one." I smiled at Raoul, and he grinned back at me.

"I still like the last one…" Elizabeth muttered, but one look from Meg shut her up. Elizabeth plastered an obviously fake smile on her face. "If you just want to get changed darling I'll ring that up for you."

I changed quickly, and Elizabeth took the dress and put it in a fancy dress box. Within ten minutes, Meg and I were back in Raoul's car and heading back to our apartment.

"I have a couple things I need to do." Raoul smiled, reaching over me to open the door. "I'll be back at six to pick you up."

"Okay," I smiled and grabbed the dress box, waving at him from the sidewalk as he drove away.

"That dress is stunning Chris," Meg gushed as we walked up to our room. "Much better than that white scrap of fabric Elizabeth picked."

"I have never felt more awkward in my life!" I exclaimed, putting my key in the lock and fumbling to get it open. "I might as well have been standing on that podium naked."

"Well Raoul sure liked it." She teased, and I elbowed her.

"Shut up," I mumbled, flopping down onto our couch. "What time is it?"

"4:00," She called from the kitchen.

"Shit," I mumbled, "I'd better start showering and getting ready."

It took me the full two hours to get ready, since I wanted to look absolutely perfect for meeting Raoul's parents. My hair was smoothed in gentle waves that cascaded down my back, accenting the neckline of the dress beautifully. I smiled at the mirror, happy that I had been able to completely cover the faint remnants of the scrapes on my face with make-up. I put on one final swipe of mascara, and left the bathroom to grab my shoes.

"You look absolutely stunning!" Meg gushed as I pulled on a pair of silver strappy heels.

"Thanks," I smiled, as a knock sounded on the door.

I glanced at the clock, exactly 6:00.

"By Meg," I called as I opened the door where Raoul was waiting. He looked absolutely fantastic in a classic black tuxedo.

"You are absolutely gorgeous." He smiled as I took my arm. When we got downstairs I saw that he had his Jaguar back, and eagerly climbed into the passenger side.

"So, I have a quick warning for you…" I said as we drove away.

"Oh?" I questioned.

"Well, my brother can be a little bit, ummm, tricky to get along with sometimes." He smiled impishly, "So don't get offended by anything he says."

"You said I'd like him!" I accused, pointing a finger at him.

"Well I might have stretched the truth a little bit…" He muttered, "But you're amazing, so I'm sure he and my parents will love you."

"Your parents already know me." I pointed out.

"But not as my girlfriend," He argued, "And they haven't seen you in years."

We rode in silence until we pulled up outside Daniel. My stomach was twisted with nervousness and my palms were clammy, but I didn't want to wipe them on my beautiful dress.

"Christine." Raoul spoke once the car had stopped, placing a hand on my cheek. "Calm down, you don't need to be nervous."

"That's easy for you to say!" I exclaimed. "You're the one who told me your brother was difficult to get along with, and I really want your parents to like me, and I really don't want to mess this up…"

I was cut off when his lips touched mine.

It was a gentle kiss, tender and quick, but it calmed my nerves immediately. In that kiss, saw the Raoul I had known for my whole life. I smiled as he climbed out of the car and opened my door for me.

"Let's do this." I grinned, taking his hand and giving him another quick kiss. He beamed down at me as he led me into the restaurant; and at that moment, with Raoul's hand in mine and his kiss fresh on my lips, I felt like I could take on the world.

**AN: **So sorry for the delay! But I have an extra-long chapter to make up for it Thanks to everybody for the reviews, especially "A Reader" since I can't private message you! I loved your review, it made my day!

So the next chapter will have some stuff with Erik, and then the chapter after that will go back to Christine at the dinner. I may or may not be able to do previews this week, depending on how quickly I can finish the next chapter

Thanks so much! Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

I looked at the song I had just written, finally finishing it around 4:00 am. After Christine's lips touched my cheek such joy had filled me that I had been unable to sleep, my brain deciding instead to create a musical masterpiece.

It was unlike anything I had written before, and I stared at it for a moment in confusion. Notes floated across the staff lightly and contentedly, an incredible contrast from the piercing, harsh notes of my regular music. Was this how my mind interpreted joy?

I played the song again, reveling in how soft and beautiful the tune was. It was so simplistically beautiful that I could hardly believe that my brain had conjured it. Without a second thought I scrawled a title at the top of the page:

_Christine's Serenade_

Contented, I stood from my piano, feeling emotionally complete for the time being and journeyed to my bedroom to get dressed for the day.

I donned a pure black suit and hat, and pulled on one of my favourite silken capes. The phantom of the opera had some work to do today, and in the event someone managed to see me, I needed to look the part.

I crossed the lake quickly and purposefully, then took one of the passageways up into the ceilings of the theatre. Obviously, Andre and Firmin weren't going to listen to me if I didn't put on some display of power; ignorant fools.

I hummed _Christine's Serenade_ cheerfully as I worked at detaching the scene curtain from its fixings. By the time I was finished with it, one pull of a rope would bring the whole thing crashing down, and it wouldn't even appear as if anything had been wrong.

I chuckled to myself. I truly was a genius to manufacture these devices without ever getting caught.

Of course, the curtain falling wasn't going to hurt anyone; I could never risk hurting my Christine like that, but with any luck it would scare that cow Carlotta into a coma.

It took me only two hours to finish the mechanism, which meant it was still only 6:30 in the morning. Having nothing else to do, I decided to take up my post outside Christine's apartment.

The streets of New York were already filled with cars, the noises of the city echoing throughout the early morning. Most mornings I would have found the noise stifling, but this morning it was strangely peaceful.

As I suspected, nobody came or went for several hours. I was nearly drifting off to sleep when a BMW pulled gracefully up to the curve.

"Please don't let it be the fop…" I mumbled, as he stepped out of the car.

"Damn it." I muttered, instantly recognizing it was him; one did not forget the man who had the privilege of escorting the most beautiful girl in the world to dinner.

My earlier joy was replaced by anger every minute he spent in there with her, while I stood alone out here. I should be the one with her today; the one making her feel better after everything that had happened. It was ME she had confided in last night, not that fop!

Almost an hour had passed by the time he emerged, flanked by Christine and Meg.

"What is he doing?" I whispered as they climbed into their car.

As soon as he was getting into the driver's side I was in my car, which I had started parking in a lot across from her apartment just in case she went anywhere.

His BMW weaved easily through traffic, but my black, heavily tinted Mercedes maneuvered just as easily and I easily followed them.

Soon they parked outside of a high-end boutique that was obviously not where Christine would normally have gone shopping. Anybody who had paid attention to her would have been able to tell that she wasn't the type to enjoy over the top, couture clothing.

I waited in my car until they went inside, and then slipped invisibly to the back of the building. They had left the back door open, so I slipped inside, trying to find a place where I could see, but remain unseen.

I finally found a small cleaning closet in the back of the storeroom with a small window into the boutique. I hid myself behind some clothing so that only my eye could see through the crack between dresses, and settled into a statue-like stance.

Christine came out of the dressing room first in a gaudy, horrendous, orange dress that looked more like something you would see on a reality show than on Christine. It clung to her body in every way, making her look like she was trying to appear thin and sexy.

I snorted. Christine didn't need clingy fabric to look beautiful, she set every man's heart aflame just by existing.

She tried on so many horrible dresses, that I stopped even paying attention to what that insolent shop girl was putting her in, and cast my full attention to her face instead.

She was such a good actress, that if someone wasn't truly tuned in to her expressions, they wouldn't even notice the pain in her eyes. Nobody less than me, or maybe her best friend, would notice the tightness and exhaustion on her face, or the fear that coursed through her entire body.

Her lovely green eyes didn't sparkle as they usually did; they were lifeless, as were the smiles that graced her lips. She was emotionally exhausted and in pain, but was smiling and bearing it simply for the sake of making the fop happy. Her smooth lips were still slightly swollen, although there was enough lip products on them to make it barely noticeable.

"How dare he," I growled, unable to contain it anymore. "How dare he take her here, after everything she's been through? What a miserable excuse for a human being!"

My fists were clenched tightly, my entire body ready to spring out of my perch and strangle the boy. Closing my eyes, I took several deep breaths to calm myself and slowly unclenched my fists. Christine needed me to be paying attention to her right now, not my own anger… I could deal with that later.

However, my focus was interrupted when Christine came out of the dressing room dressed in nothing more than a scrap of fabric that barely classified as clothing. Desire flooded through me as my eyes nearly bugged out of my skull at the sight of her barely concealed body.

Her legs were smooth and flawless, appearing to go on for miles. The dress clung to every inch of her body, extenuating her petite curves to the extreme; her tiny waist, her small chest, her round behind…

I forced my eyes to look up at her face, trying to read her expression…

It wasn't a hard expression to read. I had never seen her look more embarrassed in the time I had known her! Her eyes were downcast in anxiety, and her slender hands were constantly trying to pull down the ridiculously short hem.

And then _he _stood up.

And walked toward her.

And stood so close to her that they were almost completely pressed against each other.

And put his hands dangerously close to her rear…

I couldn't take it anymore.

I nearly threw the clothing rack I was hiding in into the wall as I sprinted out of the building. I went out into the alley and clutched my skull in rage.

How DARE he touch her that way! How dare that ignorant, egotistical, slef-centered bastard put his hands anywhere near my Christine! She was MINE damn it!

"Damn him!" I yelled, kicking an old trash can.

I stormed over to my car and threw open the door, jumping into the driver's seat and slamming the door closed behind me. Flinging the vehicle into I drive, I tore out of that parking lot.

_That fop is going to have to be able to get her home today_ I thought as worry teased at my mind.

_Because if I see him touch her again right now, I'm going to kill him._

And to make matters worse, Christine hadn't pushed him away… I couldn't see her face with him blacking the way, but she hadn't pushed him away… She had let him stand that close to her.

Because that fop had something I could never have…

A normal life with Christine.

"Why do you do this to me Christine!" I yelled, pounding my hands on the steering wheel as I sped through the streets. "Why do you come to me every day, and confide in me, and then go back to that bastard!"

_Because he has everything you don't_… My mind mocked. _He's handsome, charming and normal, not to mention the fact that he's not horribly deformed and atrociously ugly. _

"NO!" I shrieked, rage coursing through my veins.

Just then my phone started to ring.

"What?" I growled into the earpiece without even looking at who was calling.

"Whoa Phantom," Hades spoke on the other line, "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you want Hades?" I snarled, wanting nothing more than to just hang up.

"We're having a meeting." Hades sounded unfazed by the harshness in my voice. "Half an hour, at the normal place. See you there."

The line went dead, and I pulled an immediate U-turn to head back to the restaurant we always met up. My hands were clenched tightly on the steering wheel, frustration flooded my body. Why did I even bother with the damn crime ring? They were all ridiculous, stupid fools.

I pulled up into the parking lot, flinging open the door and slamming it behind me. When I walked in everyone was already discussing something, and went silent as soon as I walked in.

"What is this damn meeting for?" I spat as I sat down. "I have things to do."

"I'll cut to the chase Phantom," Barnabas spoke maliciously. "Buquet told us what you did, defending the girl like that."

I sat in silence for a moment, shocked that Buquet had the courage to come to these men.

To Hell with what Christine thought… I was going to kill that bastard.

"And?" I spoke in a mocking tone, putting on a careful mask of nonchalance.

Barnabas seemed flustered at my lack of defense. "Well, what the Hell Phantom? Why would you defend some stupid teenage girl?"

My fists clenched under the table at the mention of Christine as a "Stupid, teenage girl," and I struggled to keep my voice under control.

"Because the girl didn't know anything you dolt." I raged at him, resorting to a clever tactic; if I couldn't think of a valid reason, I would just make him feel stupid. "And if he would have actually done anything the girl would have gone to the cops… You all know that Buquet wouldn't hold up under an interrogation."

"And you threatened him because…?" Bones spoke softly, he wouldn't get flustered nearly as easily as Barnabas… I was going to have to actually think of an answer. "He said your exact words were, 'You ever lay a hand on her again, and it will be the last thing you ever do.' Can you explain that?"

My brain thought quickly, and there was a barely noticeable pause between the question and my answer. "In case you haven't noticed, Bones, Buquet has an issue with authority. I was merely reminding him of my power over him."

"Plus," I chuckled darkly, "It was fun watching him squirm."

"Very well," Hades had been sitting there silent the whole time, carefully watching the situation. "It seems as if there was a misunderstanding, Phantom, sorry for calling you here."

"You may want to evaluate your facts better next time, instead of just trusting Buquet." I mocked, but Hades managed to keep his face straight.

"Here's your payout this time men," He spoke tightly, fishing three envelopes out of his bag. "Fifteen thousand, after the robbery this weekend we'll meet again to split that."

Without a word I stood up and went toward the door.

"And phantom," Hades called to me as I opened the door.

I slowly turned, raising an eyebrow as I faced him.

"You might want to be careful next time you 'assert your authority' over members of our ring… We wouldn't want to have another… Misunderstanding." The threat was obvious in his voice, but he was sorely mistaken if he thought he could scare me.

"Of course Hades." I rolled my eyes, and silently left the building.

**AN: **Sorry this chapter is shorter, I needed to do some stuff with Erik, but I didn't want to go past the dinner with Christine The next chapters will be much longer, I promise! Just so you know, reviews help me write longer chapters and write quicker… :D


	13. Chapter 13

Raoul strode into the room with confidence that I tried desperately to match. Despite the kiss and feeling of happiness that was flooding through me, it was taking all of my acting skills to not betray the nervousness I felt in the pit of my stomach.

I took a deep breath, smiling up at Raoul as he told Edward to take us to the table. He could get me through this. He wasn't nervous, so I shouldn't be either.

"Raoul!" His mother stood up as we approached the table. "I'm so happy you could make it!"

"Me too mother," He smiled, then placed a hand on the small of my back and brought me forward. "This is Christine."

"Christine Daae!" His mother pulled me into a hug. "It has been so long since I've seen you! It's so nice that my son has found you again… Thank you for joining us."

"The pleasure is mine." I smiled, sitting down after Raoul pulled out my chair for me. I was sitting between him and his brother, Raoul on my right and Phillip on my left.

"It's good to see you Christine." His father's voice echoed with sincerity, and a genuine smile danced across his face. I recalled how much I had liked him back in Florida, and I was happy to see that he still seemed to be the kind man I remembered him to be.

"You too Mr. De Chagny." I smiled back.

"Please, call me John." He grinned. "Mr. De Chagny was my father."

"And call me Anita." His mother chimed in with a brilliant, white smile, but it somehow seemed to lack the sincerity that John's did.

"Well," Phillip spoke finally, leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. He was a direct contrast to Raoul; where Raoul was light and cheerful, Phillip was dark and brooding. Even their hair was opposite, Raoul's being blond and wavy and Phillip's being black and straight.

"This one is certainly different than the girls you usually choose baby brother." He nodded at me, his eyes never leaving Raoul's. "Her hemline is about four inches longer."

I stared at him in shock, completely caught off guard by the blunt rudeness. Everyone seemed stunned into silence. I looked over at Raoul, who was sitting there with his jaw clenched. Wasn't he going to say anything?!

"Phillip!" John spoke first, "You will be polite to our guest."

He snorted. "Sure I will be."

Irritation welled up in my stomach. Not only was Phillip incredibly rude, but Raoul hadn't said anything to defend himself, or me.

"So Christine," Anita spoke overly cheerfully, trying to break the tension. "Raoul tells us you work at the Opera Populaire?"

"Yes," I nodded, grateful to have something to talk about. "I'm one of the chorus girls."

"That must be lovely, I always wanted to be a dancer when I was a little girl." She spoke happily.

"I prefer singing to dancing," I responded thoughtfully, "But my friend Meg is a spectacular dancer."

"That's lovely, I should like to see her dance sometime!" She exclaimed. Her voice was quickly getting on my nerves. Every word she spoke was falsely cheerful, and incredibly polite; it made everything she said sound fake and insincere.

"If you attend Hannibal you'll see her." I answered politely.

"We're going to the premier." John smiled.

"So dad," Raoul said, changing the subject to something he was more knowledgeable about. "How's business?"

"Excellent as usual." His dad chuckled. "How's the hospital?"

"Fantastic." Raoul beamed. "If I didn't work there, I never would have been reunited with Christine." He looked at me, and I grinned at the compliment.

Phillip snorted, once again leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

"Do you have anything you would like to add?" John spoke harshly at him.

"No," Phillip smirked, "Raoul knows what I'm thinking."

Raoul's usual charming smile vanished, and his jaw tensed up as he glared at Phillip with every fibre of his being.

It reminded me of Erik's menacing glare as he threw Buquet to the floor, although Raoul's glare held none of the menace or intensity that Erik's did… I mentally shook myself, forcing my mind to come back to the present.

"It's okay Raoul," I whispered as his parents began talking. I placed my hand gently on his arm, and looked into his eyes. "If you just ignore him he'll just sit and brood."

He nodded tightly, but his jaw didn't slacken.

"So as I was saying dad," Raoul cut into his parents conversation a little rudely, but I was at least happy that he seemed to be relaxing. "I actually ran into Christine on a call; she saved this old lady from a mugger… Tackled this humongous man right to the ground! She managed to bruise her ribs and sprained her wrist, but did pretty well considering this man was twice her size!"

"That's astounding!" Anita exclaimed.

"Sounds like you two are lucky to have found each other." John smiled

Phillip chuckled darkly again, smirking at Raoul. Raoul tensed up all over again, anger burning in his usually cheerful eyes.

I don't know if it was still stress and exhaustion left over from the day before, but something inside me snapped. I was not going to take shit from anyone right now, even if it was my boyfriend's asshole of a brother. I was sick of seeing people picked on who were either to weak, or too scared to stick up for themselves.

"Oh my goodness how rude of me!" I said with false politeness, looking straight into Phillip's eyes. "I didn't realize you had something to contribute to the conversation Phillip… Please share."

Phillip looked at me with surprise for a moment, and John and Raoul choked back a laugh. However, Phillip's cool composure returned almost immediately. Anita smiled too, but her eyes looked angry.

"I was merely thinking about all the other times I've heard Raoul talk about meeting a beautiful girl." He leaned forward, leaning on one arm.

Raoul's laughter stopped immediately, and I saw anxiety flood onto his face out of the corner of my eye, but I refused to be phased by Phillip's obvious jibes at his younger brother.

"And I bet you would know a lot about meeting lots of beautiful girls, wouldn't you Phillip?" I kept my tone overly polite and cheerful, but anybody could detect the barely concealed sarcasm.

"I would actually." He smirked, leaning farther forward on the table.

"How ironic then, that your 'baby brother' would have a date here tonight, and you would be without one…" I smirked right back at him as his mouth drew into a hard line.

"Maybe I just didn't want to bring someone." He said tightly, but it was obviously a lie.

"Or maybe nobody wanted to come with you." He glared at me, but I simply smiled, refusing to cower under his cold eyes. I was sick of backing down to assholes like this.

Raoul and John were both laughing by now, struggling to keep it under control. Finally, Phillip broke eye contact and leaned back in his chair again, mumbling something to himself.

I turned to face John. "You were saying?"

He beamed at me, his eyes twinkling. "Just that my son is incredibly lucky to have found you."

We continued chatting for a while, Phillip not making any more snide comments or at all contributing to the conversation. Obviously he wasn't used to someone not accepting his rudeness, and I was supremely satisfied that I had managed to humble him, even if it was only for a short while.

The small-talk continued until our food got there, when everyone fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the delicious meal.

"You are literally my hero right now." Raoul whispered in my ear, glancing toward his gloomy brother.

"Thank you." I whispered back with a giggle.

"It's great to see Phillip put into his place like that." He grinned, but my face turned solemn.

"You could have said something just as easily Raoul," I whispered, "You don't have to let him shove you around."

"Christine…" He started.

"Christine!" Anita spoke loudly, obviously trying to break up our conversation. "I just had a quick question for you."

"Of course," I smiled charmingly at her, trying not to show how much her voice was beginning to grate on me.

"I was just talking to John, and I was wondering how much money you made as a chorus girl?" She smiled sweetly, but it was such a stuck-up smile that anyone could have seen the jab behind the question.

"Anita…" John started, but she caught him off.

"I'm just curious John," She said sharply, "It's just a question."

John rolled his eyes and said no more.

I was silent for a moment, calculating my answer against the obvious rudeness. As much as I wanted her to like me, I wasn't going to lie about how much money I made.

"Certainly not a fortune," I joked, "But what can a young girl starting off in New York be expected to make?"

"Of course," She smiled with little conviction. "Of course, you must be used to living a modest life; if I recall correctly, your father never made that much either."

"Anita!" John choked on his water, but I stayed stone-faced, resolved not to let this woman get to me.

"When you share the bond that my dad and I had, money does not determine your happiness." I said civilly, struggling not to break down. How dare that woman insult my father in front of me? How heartless could someone be?!

"Ah, the old 'money can't buy happiness' quote." She smirked, "I always thought that was just what people…"

"Anita!" John thundered, placing a hand on her arm. "That is quite enough!"

Anita turned and glared at him, but said no more.

"So Christine," John attempted to break the tension and salvage the conversation. "You obviously enjoy music… What is your favourite type?"

I eagerly leapt into the conversation, grateful to John for steering it into safer waters, even as frustration, exhaustion and sorrow clouded my heart.

About two hours later, we were finally getting ready to leave. Luckily, Anita hadn't made any more jibes about my father or lack of money, but she had barely been superficially civil to me for the entire evening. I was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to go home.

"I just have to use the washroom Raoul," I excused myself, ducking into the restroom.

I emerged a few minutes later, and looked around the lobby, unable to spot Raoul's wavy blonde hair.

"He's outside waiting for you at his car." A voice spoke beside me, and I jumped, whirling around to face whoever it was. Phillip stood there, leaning against a wall.

"And he sent you in to tell me?" I asked, starting to walk toward the door.

"Yes actually," He said, easily keeping pace with me. "Despite what you may think, I'm not actually a horrible human being."

"I only judge by actions."

"Christine," He leapt in front of me, blocking my way. "I don't appreciate how you spoke to me earlier."

"I don't care whether or not you appreciated it." I spat. "You were rude, and you deserved it… If you hadn't been so rude to Raoul I wouldn't have been rude to you."

"Ha!" He chuckled, but it was a joyless laugh. "So you were defending my brother were you?"

"Yes." I put my hands on my hips and stared him down, then stepped around him and kept walking.

"I was trying to protect you Christine!" He protested mockingly. "I just didn't want you to end up falling into bed with my brother, and being discarded like all those other girls! However, if you really are desperate to 'fall' into bed with someone, mine is always open…" He smirked.

I hadn't even realized I slapped him until I felt the stinging in my hand as he looked at me with shock.

"Shut up." I growled, "I have to deal with a lot of shit in my life, but I do not have to take it from you… you self-centered bastard."

And I whirled around and stomped out of the door, leaving Phillip standing there in shock.

As Phillip had said, Raoul was right out front waiting for me, but I didn't even look at him before I flung the door open and practically leapt into the car, slamming it closed behind me.

I was so done with this shit.

He got into the driver's side, confusion etched onto his face. "Is something wrong…?"

"How could you do that to me?!" I screeched at him, turning to face him and leaning over the console. "How could you leave your pig of a brother to tell me where you were? Why did you even lie to me about him in the first place?"

"Phillip isn't that bad…"

"He practically asked me to sleep with him Raoul!" I screeched, shoving my hand onto his chest. People outside the car were starting to look, but I didn't care. "And your mother openly insulted my DEAD father! I'm emotionally exhausted Raoul!"

"I'm sorry, I…" He started, but I wasn't anywhere near finished.

"I can't even describe how much pain I'm in after yesterday." I yelled, holding back the tears welling into my eyes. "I needed somebody to help me today Raoul, not be dragged to that horrid dress salon and have to put up with your judgemental mom and bastard of a brother."

"If you're so exhausted then why did you even come?" He argued, cutting me off. "You could have said no!"

"To make you happy!" I yelled back. "I tried to tell you I couldn't come, but you looked so upset that I couldn't bear to say no! And you certainly wouldn't listen to me!"

"Well, I'm sorry for being such a horrible boyfriend!" He spat back, and I started to cry.

"Screw this," I muttered, opening the door and climbing out of the car. "I'm going to find another way home."

"Christine…" He started to protest.

"No Raoul," I stopped him, wiping the tears from my face. "Just leave."

"Fine," He muttered, pulling the door closed, and stomping on the gas pedal.

I just stood there crying as he drove away; hating him for leaving, and hating myself for making him go.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, making me jump.

"It's okay." A soft voice spoke behind me. I turned to look at him, and saw an older looking, middle-Eastern man standing there.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," He smiled warmly and genuinely. "I just thought you looked as if you needed a ride."

I looked at him for a moment, studying his features. His eyes were kind and genuine, and he had wrinkles that made it obvious that he smiled all the time. After a moment, I nodded quietly, still trying to stop the tears from falling. "Thank you."

"My car is right over here." He spoke quickly, leading me over to a black Mercedes. He opened the door and I climbed in, quietly doing up my seatbelt as he closed the door and got into the driver's side.

"Here you go." He passed me and old-fashioned handkerchief just before he hit the gas and we pulled away.

I knew I should be scared to be getting into a car with a strange man, no matter how kind his eyes looked, but at this point I was too numb to care. It was like the outpouring of emotions at Raoul had drained me of any feelings I had.

"Where am I taking you Miss?" He asked kindly.

"The Opera Populaire." I whispered dully.

"Alright." He answered cheerfully, and quickly turned onto another road.

We had driven in silence for what felt like millennia before he finally pulled up to the curb outside the Opera house.

"Thank you," I whispered, stepping out of the car.

"May I ask your name miss?" He asked just as I was about to close the door.

"Christine," I spoke softly, trying to pretend I didn't notice the shock that crossed his face when I spoke my name. "And yours?"

"Nadir," He smiled happily. "Nadir Khan."

**AN: **And the Persian enters the story! Sorry everybody for the late update, but updates are going to be slower for the next little bit… I can't even describe to you how busy I am right now! Thanks to everybody who sent me a message or review, I apologise for not having time to respond to you all!

Thanks for reading! And please review!


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: **Yay! Another chapter! I probably shouldn't have this done, since I have a huge project due on Thursday that I have barely started… But hey, when you're inspired to write, you have to write! So this chapter is almost double the length of my normal chapters (Over 4600 words!), but the only logical breaking point in the chapter other than where I ended it didn't accomplish what needed to happen before Christine's next chapter Just a note, there's a part where song lyrics are in italics; I did that just to make it clear that Christine is singing.

So enjoy! Please review!

"Erik?" Christine's voice called out, rattling me from my thoughts.

"Angel?" She called out again, "Are you here?"

I wasn't going to answer her. She couldn't go out with the fop, and then come crawling back to me when he didn't satisfy her emotional needs; if she wanted to talk to me, she could talk to **only** me.

"Damn it," She mumbled to herself, groping around in the darkness that my eyes were so well-accustomed to. "You shouldn't be so selfish Christine, obviously an angel has more important things to do than listen to your petty problems."

Heavy make-up was plastered on her beautiful face, but anybody could tell how haggard her face was beneath it. Dark circles were prominent beneath her eyes, and I'm sure her eyes looked tired too, but I couldn't tell in the dark…

My resolve faltered a little. She sounded so broken and empty, not at all like her usual self. It was even more frightening than her outburst last night; last night she sounded angry, terrified and upset, but now she simply lacked emotion.

Then I saw him, his hands on her waist, her not pushing him away… My heart hardened again, and I set my jaw. She wasn't going to break the phantom that easily.

She felt her way down the hallway into the stage and finally came to a stop right in the center of it. Tears began silently trickling down her face as she looked up toward where I was sitting. The stage was the only place she could let her emotions free…

Then she opened her beautiful, pink lips and began to sing.

"Where do we go from here? This isn't where we intended to be… We had it all, you believed in me… I believed in you…" The words poured out of her like a waterfall of pure emotion, echoing throughout the entire theatre.

It was absolutely terrifying.

It wasn't just hurt, pain or fear echoing through the song, it was pure heartbreak, probably the only emotion, aside from elation and love, that I had never experienced.

It was like every word chipped away at the stone I had placed around my heart.

"Deep in my heart, I'm concealing, things that I'm long to say! Scared to confess what I'm feeling… Frightened you'll slip away; you must love me. You must love me."

I slowly made my way down to the stage entrance, entranced by her voice. Something inside my angel had snapped, and I had no idea what I was going to do about it, but I had to be close to her. I couldn't let her keep feeling this way…

"Why are you at my side? How can I be any use to you know? Give me a chance and I'll let you see how, nothing has changed!" She cried to the sky, tears still pouring down her face.

I stole into the shadows at the back of the stage, not wanting to interrupt her. I was still angry at her, and the fop, and at life, but something inside me –was it my conscience? - wouldn't let myself leave her like this.

By the time she got to the second "You must love me," she dissolved into tears and practically collapsed onto the floor, pulling her arms around her knees and sobbing.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Christine," I took a step out of the shadows, turning on the stage lights. "I'm here."

"What happened to me Erik?" She whispered, not even turning to look at me. "Why is everything so screwed up?"

I didn't know what to say, so I walked to stand in front of her, carefully looking down at her petite frame. She clutched an old-fashioned handkerchief tightly in her fist, not even bothering to dab at the tears streaming down her face.

"Ummm," I floundered. "What happened?"

I sounded shaky as I spoke the question, unsure if it was the right thing to say. What did one say in this situation? I had certainly never had anybody ask me why life was screwed up, that is, unless **I** was the one doing the screwing up…

"I had a fight with Raoul," She whispered, and a flutter of joy swept through me. She had fought with the fop?! Had she finally realized that he was no good for her?! She slowly looked up to meet my eyes…

All, the joy left my system as soon as I met her gaze.

Her beautiful, green eyes were completely and utterly broken, dull and lifeless. Even more so than yesterday, every ounce of life that had once sparkled in her eyes was gone. It was as if she was barely even alive.

I was terrified.

"Over what?" I pressed softly, slightly eager to know what had happened.

"Mainly I just yelled at him," She conceded, "Over his judgemental mother, and pig brother, how he doesn't listen to me, and basically how he's a coward."

"Ummm… Do you want to tell me about it?" I asked hesitantly.

She nodded, and I took a seat next to her on the stage.

"Ummm," I started, cursing how much I had said that today. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

She launched immediately into the story, obviously waiting for the cue. _Way to go Erik! _I mentally congratulated myself, _You actually said the correct thing! _

"Well Raoul showed up this morning and asked me to go to dinner with his parents, and I really didn't want to, so I said no." I raised an eyebrow at her, and she blushed a little. "But he just looked so upset, that I finally relented and said yes. Then he dragged me to this horrible dress shop, and the shop keeper put me in this dress that was so short it was barely legal."

The memories of Christine in that dress came flooding back, and I clutched the arm rest tightly in anger. I knew what part of the story was coming next.

"And he got all, well…" She floundered for a moment, blushing fiercely and struggling to find the words. "Well, he acted like a guy and got super close to me, and I was so uncomfortable."

"Well why didn't you push him away from you?" I couldn't help but ask angrily.

She looked at me curiously, "I did. I tried to downplay it, and jokingly told him to go sit down, but I really didn't like him looking at me that way."

I mentally cursed myself as a twisted sense of relief flooded through me. She had pushed him away; I had simply left too quickly to see it… Curse my temper!

"So what happened next?" I prodded, trying to keep her talking. Anything was better than her looking at me with those dead, empty eyes.

"I put my foot down and bought this dress," She motioned at the dress she was wearing. It really was lovely, very dramatic in an understated way. "And we went to dinner."

"At first it wasn't that bad," She said thoughtfully. "Raoul's mom was fake and superficial, but she's always been that way. However, Raoul's dad, John, was just as kind as I remembered him. He really was the only good thing about this whole evening."

"And then there was Phillip." She said with slight frustration. For a moment I could sense a little bit of her spark coming back into her voice. "And he kept making these horribly rude comments about how many girls Raoul has been with, and I kind of freaked out on him."

She stood up and walked away from me, running her hands angrily through her hair. As much as it pained me to see her angry, I was happy to see any emotion coming from her, so I decided to just let her vent, staying seated where I was.

"And then Raoul's mom started asking me how much money I made, and made a dig at how my father didn't make that much money! Can you believe it Erik? Making a comment about how much MONEY my DEAD father made?!" She whirled around, walking right by me.

"And then I ducked out right before we left to use the washroom, and Phillip was waiting for me to tell me that Raoul was waiting outside. Raoul can be so stupid! Phillip keeps making those rude comments, and he thinks 'Wow, that's the perfect person to tell my girlfriend where I am!' How moronic can you be?"

She was completely ranting now, and every word I heard made me angrier. How idiotic **could **the fop be?!

"And Phillip said how he was mad that I commented on his rudeness, and that he was just trying to keep me from 'falling into Raoul's bed.' And then he practically asked me to sleep with him!" She yelled.

Red tinged the edge of my vision.

It was bad enough to even begin to think about her in the bed of that fop, but for his horrendous brother to insinuate that she should sleep with him?!

"So I slapped him, and told him I wasn't going to deal with his shit…" Christine continued her story, but I wasn't listening anymore.

I was going to kill Phillip, and nothing Christine could say was going to stop me this time.

I abruptly stood up and walked purposefully toward the stage door.

"Wait!" Christine called, but her voice sounded strangely distant. "Where are you going?"

I pushed the door open and strode down the hall toward the entrance into the trap door system.

"Erik!" She yelled and I heard her footsteps behind me, but it sounded as if I was listening to the world through some kind of filter. Red completely clouded my vision, and I was intently focussed on reaching that door…

And finding the Punjab…

And putting it around Phillip's neck…

Something tapped my shoulder, and I whipped around and grabbed whatever it was.

I stared angrily into the eyes of a terrified Christine as I clutched her wrist tightly in my fist.

"Erik," She whimpered. "W-what are you doing?"

"Going to put an end to that bastard's disgusting comments about you." I sneered as she tentatively tried to pull her wrist away.

"It really wasn't that bad…" She started shakily.

"And stay away from your precious Raoul." I jerked her closer to me, leaning close to her and gazing into her terrified eyes. "He has been nothing but trouble for you, and still you crawl back to him! How can you be so stupid Christine? If you had any self-respect you'd leave him!"

"Erik," She whispered, terror seeping through her voice and tears trickling down her pale face. "You're hurting me!"

"Get out." I growled, pushing her away from me and releasing her wrist.

She looked at me for a single moment, absolute horror and terror contorting her entire face, then fled frantically to the stage door and sprinted into the night.

The sound of the door closing echoed through my entire brain violently snapping me back to reality. I stumbled to the door of my passage and quickly entered it, bracing myself on the wall so I didn't fall over.

Christine's words echoed in my mind.

_"Erik," _She had cried, _"You're hurting me!"_

And what I had I done? Threw her away from me and told her to get out!

What kind of lunatic was I? I had literally taken the only person I'd ever cared about and _hurt _her. All because I went into a murderous haze in order to _protect _her.

I tore my mask off and fell to the floor, clawing at my face.

"WHY AM I SUCH A MONSTER?!" I yelled as loud as I possibly could, clutching the deformed side of my face.

I fell to the ground, my legs unable to hold me up anymore. Without another thought I curled up into the fetal position and wept, crying until sleep had the mercy to take me.

Exactly a week passed with absolutely no contact from Christine. At this point she was finally able to start dancing with the rest of the girls, but she didn't come to me for our lessons, or otherwise seek me out.

On the plus side, the fop wasn't around either.

Christine started to look worse throughout the week; her eyes had dark circles underneath them, making it obvious she hadn't been sleeping, and her eyes still had a dullness to them that didn't go away. It broke my already mangled heart to see her like this, and know that I was the partial cause.

I had followed her home every day since that night, but aside from one visit to Mama Valerius, she didn't go anywhere; not out with Meg, not out with the fop, not out with any of the chorus girls… She just sat in her room by herself.

Meg was actually being a fantastic friend, earning my respect. She tried to coax Christine into talking to her or going out, and when she wouldn't she patiently sat with her at home, making sure she was eating and trying to entertain her.

I wanted to be the one looking after her.

_Huh,_ my mind sneered at me. _If you hadn't __**hurt **__her, she might not need to be looked after. _

I clutched my skull tightly. I couldn't take the self-abuse right now… I needed to be focussed.

Carlotta was prancing around the stage like a fat pony, singing her frog-like rendition of _Think of Me_. I crept along the catwalk to the mechanism I had installed on the back drop, and pulled the cord, running to my viewing area.

It worked beautifully, which wasn't a real surprise since I had made it. Just as Carlotta was about to butcher the fifth line of the aria, the backdrop came crashing down about two feet behind her, causing her to fall over in terror.

She screamed shrilly, and Piangi waddled to her side, helping the fat cow to her feet.

"It's the phantom of the opera!" I heard one of the ballet girls exclaim as the entire stage broke out into frightened whispers.

"Did you see anybody?!"

"It could have killed her!"

"Well at least it only came close to Carlotta…"

"It must be the phantom! I've been saying that he was going to kill someone soon!"

"Quiet!" Mr. Andre ran onto the stage, Mr. Firmin trailing behind him. "Where is Joseph Buquet?! He must be responsible for this!"

"Buquet!" Mr. Firmin yelled after him.

Buquet slowly came in through the stage door, and Christine noticeably cringed as he walked through the door. Anger welled in me, but I quickly suppressed it; if this plan was going to work, I wanted to be alert.

"Buquet!" Mr. Andre yelled. "What is the reason for this?!"

"Hey, don't look at me!" He defended, putting his hands out in front of him. "I was downstairs putting something into storage… I haven't been up on the catwalk for hours!"

"See… It's the phantom!" A ballet girl agued loudly. Carlotta gave a little scream, along with some of the other dim-witted girls. I was pleased to see Christine rolling her eyes at them.

"Please quiet down ladies!" Mr. Firmin yelled.

"These things do happen."Mr. Andre consoled, but was instantly cut off by Carlotta.

"These things do happen?!" She screeched, storming toward the poor man. "I could have been KILLED and all you say is 'These things do happen'?!"

"I'm sorry Carlotta…"

"Well," She poked a finger into his chest. "Until you stop these 'Things' from happening, I am finished! Piangi!"

Carlotta fled the stage, crying as she did so, with Piangi following closely at her heels. I had to give it to that woman, she certainly did know how to make a dramatic exit.

Everybody looked at Andre and Firmin expectantly, while the two of them looked at each other.

"Carlotta will be back." Andre assured the still-frantic crowd.

"You think so?" Madam Giry stepped out from the shadows, causing me to smile. That woman could be almost as ominous as me when she wanted to. "I have a letter from the opera ghost for you."

"Oh do you now?" Firmin mocked, trying to grab the letter, but Madame Giry deftly moved it out of his reach.

I smiled as she folded up the letter and put it in her pocket. "He merely reminds you to leave box five empty for his use, and points out that his salary is due."

"Well you can tell the phantom," Firmin spat. "That it has been a slow month for the opera, so will have his salary to him as soon as possible!"

"Anyways," Andre turned to the stage director, patting Firmin on the shoulder. "Who is the understudy for Carlotta's role? We can't cancel our opening performance… We are sold out!"

"There is no understudy!" The director yelled, "Carlotta said nobody could fill her role and threatened to quit if we hired one."

"Damn…" Firmin mumbled as he and Andre began talking to each other.

_Nows your chance Christine… _I willed her to speak up. The whole plan would be for nothing if she didn't say anything.

Meg Giry moved from the corner of the stage, walking up to Andre and tapping him on the shoulder. "Christine Daae could sing it sir! She's been taking lessons from a great teacher!"

"And who is that?" Firmin motioned Christine over him.

"Ummm," Christine floundered, trying to formulate an answer.

"Let her sing," Madame Giry cut in, "She has been well taught."

"From the beginning of the aria then!" Andre yelled.

"Meg!" Christine whispered harshly as Meg passed her the scarf needed for the scene.

"You'll do great!" She smiled, and took her place with the other girls.

Christine's eyes darted around at everybody looking at her as the piano began playing. When it came her time to sing, a timid voice escaped her lips.

"Come on Christine…" I growled. We had come too far for her to crack now.

"I told you she couldn't do it!" One of the ballet girls whispered loudly.

Christine obviously heard the comment, and got the steely look in her eyes that she always got when trying to prove herself. She stood up taller and let her voice echo out in a spectacular display of vocal power…

"If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me!"

Needless to say, her performance was fantastic.

Christine had more grace, beauty and passion on stage in her finger than Carlotta did in her whole body. She truly brought the music to life… It was the most glorious thing I had ever seen onstage.

After the performance I quickly went to her dressing room to congratulate her and make amends for my horrid behaviour the week before. Seeing her on stage had made me realize one thing; I needed Christine, and I was going to do whatever it took to earn her forgiveness.

However, when I got there, the fop was already standing inside the doorway.

"Please Christine," He begged, "Let me take you to dinner."

"Raoul," She sighed, "I already told you I don't want to go!"

"I'm so sorry for everything with Phillip and my mom, and for everything I put you through… I promise I'll try to listen to you better next time!" He babbled.

"I don't want to go out." She repeated harshly.

"I'm sorry…" He pleaded.

"Raoul," Christine began to cut him off, but he completely misinterpreted the tone of her voice.

"I'll just go tell my parents that they don't need to wait for me." He grinned and walked quickly out the door.

"Insolent boy," I muttered, walking through the mirror and into her dressing room.

"Erik?" She questioned timidly, slowly turning around to meet my eyes. Fear was laced through her gaze, and her voice. It was like a knife in my heart.

"Bravo," I said, handing her a single red rose with a black ribbon tied around the stem.

"You came?" She asked quietly.

"Of course." I stated, and we stood in silence for a moment. She regarded me hesitantly, and I saw her fingers begin to trace the dark bruising on her wrist.

"About last week," I started, not failing to meet her gaze. "I am truly sorry for my actions… Hearing about Phillip saying those things about you… And then I… And I wanted to… Well, I lost my mind."

She looked at me expectantly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Christine," I begged. "Hurting you is the single, most regrettable thing I have ever done in my life."

"I needed you Erik," She said softly.

"I am so sorry." I desperately put my hands out in front of me, trying to convey how much I needed her forgiveness. When she didn't answer, I turned around and made my way back to the passage way. Just as I was about to touch the trigger to open the door, I felt a feather-light touch on my shoulder.

I slowly turned around to see Christine smiling softly at me, her hand resting on my shoulder.

"I forgive you Erik." She spoke quietly.

I smiled her a little bit. "Thank you my dear."

"I'm just so happy!" She exclaimed, smiling and practically jumping over to her make-up table. "That was the most wonderful feeling I've ever had! Being on stage, having all those people clap for me…"

My heart swelled at the sight of her joy… It was a wonderful upgrade from how she had felt last week.

She began pulling pins out of her glorious hair, and wiping the heavy stage make-up off her face.

"Where did I put my make-up remover?" She muttered, shifting through her things. In the process of sifting through the stuff on the make-up table, she knocked her bag over, papers and other stuff spilling out of it .On piece of paper floated toward me, landing at my feet. It was something handwritten in lovely cursive.

I picked it up and glanced at its contents. I was shocked to see what the title read:

The Phantom of the Opera

"What's this?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Oh!" She blushed furiously, rushing over and taking the paper from my outstretched hands. "That's nothing… Just… Nothing."

"You wrote a song about the phantom?" I asked in shock.

"Erik," She laughed sarcastically. "I know you're the phantom."

"How long have you known?" I questioned, shocked that she had figured it out so quickly.

"Since our second lesson." She smiled. "I'm pretty observant."

"So why write a song about me?"

She stuffed it into the pile of papers. "I write song lyrics when I need to deal with emotions."

"You compose?" I questioned with surprise, taking the paper back out of the pile.

"Not really." I blushed, "I can never write the music… Just the lyrics."

"I would very much like to hear the phantom song."

"I would not at all like to sing it."

"Please Christine?" I asked. "I'm sure it's wonderful."

"I don't even have a tune for it." She exclaimed in protest.

I walked over to the warm-up piano in the corner of the room, taking her lyric sheet with me. "Just try…" I coaxed, slightly desperate to hear the song that was so obviously about me.

"It's personal." She protested weakly.

"Music is meant to be shared!"

"Not when it's just your feelings in lyrical form!"

"That's the most glorious kind of music!"

"You can't really talk about sharing your feelings." She retorted, putting her hands on her hips.

"Please Christine… I would be the last person on this planet to judge your feelings." I tried in a last ditch effort.

"Fine!" She finally exclaimed. "But it's not very good, and I think you'll be disappointed…"

"Sing…" I whispered, beginning to play a simplistic, yet powerful tune on the piano… It was my feelings being added to her song.

She closed her eyes as she felt the music, not even needing to grab her lyric sheet. Beautiful notes began to stream out of her mouth.

"_In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came._

_That voice which calls to me, and speaks my name._

_And who I dream again, for now I find…_

_The phantom of the opera is there inside my mind."_

It was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Without any rational thoughts in my mind, I stood up from the piano, taking her hand and leading her through the mirror passageway. She followed me without hesitation, she was so lost in the music. Music overtaking and logical thought process, I joined her song.

"Sing once again with me, our strange duet.

My power over you, grows stronger yet.

And though you turn from me, to glance behind…"

I carefully cupped her chin, turning her face to look forward as she stopped and hesitated, starting to look scared. Her eyes held hesitation and slight fear, but as soon as our gazes met all those fears vanished, replaced by a strong curiosity and love for music. She continued to follow me into the labyrinth.

"The phantom of the opera is there, inside your mind!"

Our voices came together in the most beautiful harmony I had ever experienced, topping even Christine's soulful performance of her parent's wedding song. Just as we began to sing together, we approached the boat on the underground lake. I helped her in without either of us breaking a note.

"Your spirit and your voice, in one combined! The phantom of the opera is there, inside your mind!"

I tied the boat to the small wooden dock and turned to help Christine out of the boat, only to find she was already behind me. She followed me to the rocky front of my home, completely entranced by song.

"Sing," I whispered passionately with a wave of my arm, trying to draw her voice out of her. She let loose a glorious note, but it didn't even begin to challenge her range.

"Sing!" I exclaimed again, a little louder. She pushed her voice a little bit higher, but I wanted more.

"SING!" I yelled with so much passion that she eagerly complied… Pushing her voice to the upper limits of what she had practiced. It wasn't enough. I knew she could do better.

"SING MY ANGEL OF MUSIC!" I proclaimed, waving my arm to try to coax her voice out of her. She looked shocked as she let out a beautiful note higher than any she had ever sung.

"SING FOR ME!" I cried as a final effort to break her voice free of her control.

It was the most dazzling reward I had ever received.

Out of her throat came the highest note I had ever heard a person sing before. Never had I heard it with such strength and purity before! For the first time in years, I actually found myself grinning in pleasure.

She grasped her throat, surprise evident on her face as she panted for breath. In a moment her knees gave out, but I was right behind her, scooping her up into my arms.

"That was beautiful my dear," I smiled down into her beautiful face as I carried her through the door of my home.

Something blossomed in my chest as I carried Christine Daae through the door into my house; something I don't think I had ever truly felt before. The wonder of her voice, feeling of her small body in my arms, and joy plain on her face all led to one thing.

For me, it was the most magnificent thing I had ever experienced.

Love.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: **Here's another chapter! Thanks to everybody who either reviewed or message me… It means a lot to me So obviously the last chapter followed the musical really closely, and a few elements of this one does too… In order to progress the plot in the direction I wanted it to, I needed to use a few things from the musical. After this chapter however, things are going to pretty much stray completely from the original plotline.

So enjoy! And please review

My angel placed me gently on the floor in the living room of his house. I was completely in shock of everything that had just happened; the lake underneath the opera house, meeting my angel in person, the pitch my voice had hit… It was all so spectacular! Without thinking, I rubbed my throat.

"Your throat must be sore." Eik spoke half to himself, breaking me out of my revelry. "I'll fetch you something to soothe it."

Without another word he went through a large, oak door, leaving me alone in the sitting room.

The décor in the room was simple, a single chair sat in the middle of the room, with a small table next to it, and the walls were lined with bookshelves. There was nothing else in the room in terms of furniture, except several musical instruments crammed into a corner. The only thing that made the room look different from a library was the crumpled balls of sheet music that littered the floor. Without thinking, I picked one up and began to unfold it.

A title was scrawled in elegant cursive across the top:

The Point of No Return

I squinted at the messily written musical notes, trying to read through the dark black scribbles that covered the music staff.

It was a tune more strange and complex than any I had ever seen before.

"I apologise for the state of my home," Erik's voice apologised, and I instantly dropped the piece of music. I blushed fiercely. "I never have company, so I'm afraid my home isn't very clean."

Was he… blushing?

"It's fine," I said with a wave of my hand, "You should see my apartment… Between Meg and I it's always a mess."

"Here's some lemon tea," He held a dainty cup and saucer out to me. "It's good for your throat."

"Thank you," I said, sipping the hot tea. It was lovely.

"So is this where you live then?" I questioned, placing the cup on the small table. "Underneath the opera house?"

"Yes," He answered simply. "I find myself quite at home here."

"How did you find this place?" I asked, my curiosity starting to burn in me.

"That is a story better left for another time." He answered cryptically.

"Well I would like to hear it now…" I coaxed.

"Christine," He sighed, "It is a very long story…."

"I don't have to go anywhere."

"That I would rather not get into." He finished, irritation clearly showing in his voice.

"But…"

"Christine," He cut me off sharply. "If I show you the rest of the house, will you drop the subject?"

"For now." I muttered.

"Follow me," He stated, leading me through the door he had just come through.

My angel's house was built unlike any I had ever seen. All the rooms were behind large, oak doors, not one open room in the entire house. He showed me each room, holding the door open for me like a gentleman for each one.

"The dining room, kitchen, washroom," He opened all the doors for me, allowing me to see the contents of each one.

We reached the end of a corridor, and he skipped a door, leading me to the last door at the end of the hall.

"This is my…" He began.

"What's through there?" I questioned.

"My bedroom," He answered shortly. "It is the one room in this house you may not go into."

"Okay," I sighed, the look on his face stopping me from pushing the subject further. It looked a little bit… Dangerous, and I wasn't about to try and bring out Erik's temper.

"As I was saying," He looked at me pointedly, some of the earlier irritation showing in his voice. "This is my music room."

He dramatically swept the door open, letting me enter in front of him.

I stopped, unable to move forward with astonishment.

A beautiful grand piano was the main feature of the room, placed in the middle of the crowded space. Around the walls, almost every musical instrument I had heard of sat on stands. Everything from brass trumpets, to flutes, to drums, to a small violin, to a humongous cello, all stood beautifully in the room. Sheet music was everywhere, not crumpled as it was in the sitting room, but lying on the floor next to the different instruments.

The far wall was one giant chalk board, different melodies and rhythms scribbled across it.

"It's beautiful," I whispered, walking over and tracing the wonderful notes written on the wall. Chalk dust turned my fingertips white, but I didn't care… They were so magnificent.

I turned around after a moment, to see Erik sitting at the piano bench, his fingers poised over the keys .

Wordlessly, I sat beside him on the bench.

He began to play a wonderful introduction on the piano, and then he began to sing.

"Nightime sharpens, heightens each sensation

Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination

Silently the senses, abandon their defenses…." His voice trailed away, giving way to the piano.

After a moment, he glanced at me as I looked at him in astonishment, his fingers dancing effortlessly across the keys.

"Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor… Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender" He closed his eyes as he played and sang, while I stared openly at him, enraptured by his truly angelic voice. He was stunning.

"Turn your face away from the garish light of day

Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light…"

I leaned closer to him, and he stared deeply into my eyes without missing a note. "And listen to the music of the night"

It was the most glorious song I had ever heard, and with every note he sang I became more entranced. I felt everything I had been trying to lock away. My soul soared. It was as if all the exquisite darkness I had been suppressing was entering my mind.

"Let your soul take you where you long to be!" He proclaimed, and I closed my eyes, letting myself fill with this majestic darkness that surrounded him.

It was overwhelming.

Soon, my head came to rest on his shoulder, exhaustion beginning to overtake my overcome mind.

"Let the dream begin! Let your darker side give in, to the power of the music that I write! The power of the music of the night…" As the final glorious note escaped his lips, I felt darkness closing in around me.

All of these strange feelings and emotions were becoming too much and I collapsed in exhaustion, Erik easily scooping me up into his arms. Through my state of semi-consciousness, I faintly remembered being carried and paced on something soft.

I heard a voice singing over me, quiet through the daze of my mind.

"You alone can make my song take flight… Help me make the music of the night…"

My mind brushed it aside as a dream, and I quickly lost consciousness.

~*~

Slowly, my eyes fluttered open, and my senses began to take in the room around me. I lay upon soft, silk sheets, a heavy duvet on top of me. The room smelled faintly like roses, and my head rested on the softest pillow I had ever slept on.

As my eyes opened, I looked around me at the room I was in. The bed was humongous, and had four posts, with curtains draped across them. I was still in my jeans and shirt that I had changed into after the performance, but I was still incredibly comfortable.

After a few moments, I heaved myself out of bed and pushed open the curtains.

The room had absolutely no furnishings. The bed I had been sleeping in was in the centre of the room, which had a wooden floor, and black walls. Nothing hung on the walls, and there were no decorations around the bed, not even a nightstand or a lamp.

I slowly crept out of the room, carefully pushing open the door in case it began to squeak. I emerged into the hall I had been in before. I had come out of the door right after the music room.

His music! How did anyone create music so outstanding? Even an angel?

My eyes travelled down the hall, and landed on the door at the end of the hall… My angel's bedroom. I could smell something delightful coming from the kitchen, and heard Erik's voice softly humming. I started to make my way toward the food.

However, my curiosity began to get the better of me. If Erik was in his kitchen and thought I was still sleeping, then that meant that his bedroom was unoccupied and he wouldn't come looking for me. Why had he so forcefully forbidden me from his room? The look on his face when I asked to see it said more than simply wanting some privacy… What could an angel have to hide?

Stealing one last glance at the kitchen I turned and tiptoed toward Erik's bedroom door.

Slowly, I pushed open the door to Erik's bedroom, anxiety clenching my stomach.

The first thing that shocked me was a complete lack of light in the room. Obviously, there was no light in the cavern around the house, but even so black drapery hung on the windows. The floors were slick black tiles, with the walls all painted black.

There was no bed in the room, just two desks, an organ, a side table, a sofa with a side table, and a TV. The largest desk was in the middle of the room, with the organ shoved into one corner, and the TV and sofa shoved into the opposite one. Another desk was right next to the door I had come in.

My gaze immediately stopped on the cluttered desks. There were papers of all sorts coating both desks; sketches, building schematics, writing, lists…

Tentatively, I picked up a file folder and flipped it open.

"I told you not to come in here." Erik's menacing voice came from behind me, causing me to drop the folder before I could even see its contents.

"I-I," I stuttered, whipping around to face him. When I saw the look in his eyes, my face paled and I froze.

It was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.

It was as if everything I had ever feared was hidden in his eyes… It was the same look that he had given Buquet, or that had been intended for Phillip, except this time it was directed at me.

He gripped my arm tightly, pulling me away from the desk.

"What did you see?" He growled into my face.

"N-nothing…" I stuttered, rendered speechless by fear.

"WHAT DID YOU SEE?!" He yelled, shaking my arm roughly.

"J-just some drawings, I swear!" I cried, tears streaming down my face.

"They're none of your business," He spat, pulling me up by my shoulder so my feet were barely touching the floor.

"That's interesting isn't it," He jeered, dragging me out of his room and into the sitting room. "You go snooping around my room, in my house, and then get upset when I get angry about it."

He stopped and leaned into my face, holding me so I couldn't squirm away. "You just can't listen can you Christine?"

He threw me to the floor, and I scrambled to push myself away from him.

"I'm sorry!" I sobbed as he walked toward me. As I frantically tried to push myself away from this madman, I smacked my head on his chair.

"Get out." He whispered, turning so he was facing away from me.

"Erik, I…" I blubbered, tears pouring down my face.

"GET OUT!" He bellowed.

I didn't need to be told again. I clambered to my feet, and sprinted as fast as I could out the door. My ribs were on fire, my arm and shoulder throbbed where he had grabbed me, and hitting my head was making me dizzy, but the terror I felt over shadowed any physical pain.

I quickly approached the shore of the lake, only to see that the boat was nowhere in sight. I prepared to swim, fear clouding my judgement. I couldn't spend another moment with that madman.

I pulled off my top and jeans, leaving myself in only my thin camisole and underwear. Without another second of hesitation I put one foot in the water.

"Wait!" I heard Erik's panicked voice behind me, "Christine!"

I glanced back to see him running frantically down the sloped shore, and I panicked. Without thinking, I took a deep breath and threw myself into the water.

It was so much colder than it had felt with my foot, and my whole body froze up in shock. Before I knew what was happening, strong hands clasped my waist and pulled me out of the water.

"Let me go!" I screamed as Erik threw me over his shoulder and carried me out of the water. I pounded his back and kicked my legs as hard as I could, but he didn't even appear to notice.

When we reached a safe distance from the water, he put me down on the ground. I scrambled backwards, jumping to my feet as fast as my freezing body would allow. My limbs were so frozen that I clumsily fell to the ground again, shivering uncontrollably. He took one step toward me, his arm outstretched, but I slid backwards.

"S-stay b-back." My teeth chattered, and I became painfully aware that I was on the ground in front of Erik, dripping wet, in a see-through, white camisole and bright pink underwear.

"Christine," He pleaded, "Please come back inside."

"D-do y-you think…" I wrapped my arms around myself to try to control my chattering. "I w-will go b-back in there? After w-what you did?"

"I'm the same man that has taught you this whole time." He begged. "I lost my temper… I am so sorry…" He sounded on the verge of tears, and my heart caught a bit.

However, it still didn't change what he had done.

"W-what are you h-hiding?" I asked, cradling my arm as the pain began to set in of where he grabbed me.

I was freezing, but it was the torrent of tears pouring down my face that really made me stutter.

"Who are you?" I cried up at him, tears blurring the image of his face. It felt like my heart was being ripped into a million pieces. Twice now, my angel had turned into this crazed madman, and hurt me.

"I am Erik," He whispered softly.

I began to sob burying my face in my hands. My angel, my worn protector, had hurt me and absolutely terrified me, simply because I went into his room. What in Hell was he hiding in there?!

"And here I was," I cried, "A stupid, naïve little girl who thought that my father had actually sent me an angel… I'm so stupid!"

I sobbed into my knees, my messy hair falling around my face.

"Your father is gone Christine," I wept to myself. "He's never coming back… You're all alone…"

That reality hit me like a stone to my already throbbing skull.

I was truly all alone in this world. There was no angel coming from Heaven to protect me, no angel of music… Just me, by myself, alone on this cruel, malicious Earth.

"Christine," Erik breathed, and I looked up to see him kneeling in front of my shivering frame. "Please… Is there anything I can do?"

"You've done enough," I meant to make it sound mean, but it came out simply sounding empty.

He left for a moment as I cried, starting to try and pull on my jeans and shirt over my wet underclothes. He returned in a few minutes, gently putting a blanket over my shoulders.

"Please let me do something to help you." He begged, his golden eyes pleading with me as my frozen fingers struggled to do up my jeans.

"Just take me home ang- Erik." I whispered, stopping myself from calling him my angel. Pain momentarily shot through his eyes, but was quickly replaced by an emotionless mask.

He stood, and walked slowly toward a boat shed that had escaped my notice in my panicked state.

By the time my frozen fingers had gotten my clothes pulled on, he was waiting by the dock with the boat. He held out a hand to help me in, but I ignored it and wordlessly climbed into the boat myself.

The ride was completely silent, a shocking contrast to the music that had filled both of us only yesterday. The thought of that song sent a shiver down my spine, but I quickly brushed it off.

We reached the tunnel that led up to my dressing room, and I climbed out of the shaky boat, nearly stumbling as my feet touched land.

"Christine," His voice carried. "If you would allow me to properly apologise, I would be eternally grateful."

I silently nodded.

"I am so sorry." He stopped as if waiting for a response, but I had none. "I, I mean, I… Sometimes I just, and I don't mean to, and… I truly am sorry." He sighed, shaking his head as my normally coherent angel...Teacher, anguished over his words.

I simply nodded. I knew he was sorry, anybody with half a brain could see the remorse in the golden pools in his eyes, I just didn't know if I could accept the apology.

` "Will you be back?" He questioned softly, his face returning to its emotionless state/

"I don't know," I whispered, climbing out of the boat.

"Christine," His voice was called, his face coldly indifferent. "Allow me to leave you with one last piece of information. If you have any self-respect, leave that fop Raoul that you seem to be so fond of… He's not good for you Christine."

Without even a nod I turned away from my… Erik, and walked down the passage and out into the chilly night. I stopped right outside the door, leaning against it and sinking down onto the cool ground. I pulled out my phone, hesitating for a moment as I remembered Erik's final words. However, I needed someone right now, and I wasn't going to let him dictate my life.

He answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" His cheery voice started, surprise evident in his tone.

"Raoul," I cried, "I need you."

I had only ever cried as much as I did that day once; and that was the day I found out my father was dead. Any ounce of hope I had was shattered, leaving a cold, empty feeling inside me.

Raoul was by my side in less than fifteen minutes, his car speeding up to the curb and barely stopping before he leaped out and ran to my side.

"What happened?" He asked, helping me up and pulling me up into his arms.

"Take me to the apartment," I whispered into his shoulder, "And I'll tell you everything."


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: **Thank you to everybody who reviewed the last chapter! Your continued reviews are always appreciated This chapter is relatively short, but the next one will definitely be longer! I had to edit this chapter really quickly, and I honestly had some issues with writers block while I was writing it, so I apologise in advance for any mistakes.

Enjoy! And please review!

I stood on the other side of the other door, listening intently, as my beautiful, compassionate angel slid to the ground, releasing heartbreaking sobs. I sat down, pressing my ear to the door and laying my hands against the cold, metal barrier between us.

"Oh Christine," I whispered so quietly she wouldn't have a chance of hearing me.

Soon I heard her pulling something out of her bag, and the sound of the buttons of her cell-phone being pressed.

_Please be calling Meg, please be calling Meg… _

"Raoul!" She cried, her words like a dagger being twisted into my heart. "I need you!"

Without listening to another way, I leaped to my feet, storming through a passage and climbing into the boat I had docked on the shore of the lake.

"Of course she needs him Erik!" I yelled sarcastically, my voice echoing through the entire cavern. "You told her to get out, shattered her delicate heart and physically harmed her… Obviously she needs someone to protect her right now! Mind you, it's not like that fop is great protection…"

"It is human nature Erik," I scolded myself. "When in states of intense grief, people always cling to things that are familiar, in this case the fop."

I fell into silence as the boat reached the shore, my mind instantly picturing what had happened on the shore only minutes before.

Christine diving into the water, frantic to get away from me…

The pure terror radiating from her body as she struggled to get away from me…

Her shivering figure cowering on the shore as I tried to reach out to her…

Her telling me to get away from her…

Her crying, tormenting over how alone she was, and reliving her father's death all over again…

And I was the cause of all of it.

All of her torment, heartbreak and agony was because I couldn't control my temper around her.

Shaking, I stepped out of the boat, stumbling and falling to the ground. My body couldn't move. My limbs were paralyzed, completely stricken with grief. My head felt as if someone was beating it with a stone, and pain coursed through my heart as if it had been stabbed with a dagger.

"What kind of man are you Erik?" I began to cry. "You are a horrible being, so monstrous that you can barely pass for a human… You destroy everything you touch, and are incapable of properly loving anything."

"Stupid, stupid Erik," I sobbed. "You should have known better than to treat Christine that way. You love her Erik, but you still hurt her, and now she'll never love you."

I wept for hours, until the familiar darkness that I reveled in finally had the mercy to take me.

I lay on that shore without moving for twenty-four hours, drowning in my grief and self-loathing. If I wouldn't have lost my temper, I could be spending time with Christine now, but she had inevitably gone back to that fop. Throughout my years of life, I had studied people immensely, and it was an obvious, but terrible, reaction to everything that had happened to her.

After an entire day of wallowing in self-loathing, I pushed myself up and shakily walked into my house. I couldn't bear to go into the room Christine had slept in, so I stole into my music room.

Grief poured onto the piano keys, channeling from my soul as I always did when I played. The music that filled the room told stories of despair and heartbreak, its music sounding like empathy to my ears.

Music always understood me. It understood my thoughts, my emotions, my life, no matter how complicated it may be. In this Hell of a life, it was my one true companion.

"You are alone in this world Erik." I spoke forcefully to myself. "Other people cannot be relied on. If there is something wrong in your life, either take out the person causing it, or move on."

I ate a quick meal and rehydrated, my body being used to not being fed and hydrated properly for long periods of time.

Quickly, I dressed and stole into the outside room, making my way to Christine's apartment. I scaled the backside of the building and crept along the ledge, planting one of my homemade listening devices to the window sill and climbing back down.

Then I simply sat in my car, and waited.

Within minutes, I heard the sounds of Christine waking up.

"Morning Raoul," She said groggily, and my fists clenched the arm rest of my seat. He had spent the night?!

"Morning babe," He yawned. "How are you this morning?"

"Pretty good actually," I could hear the faint smile in her voice. "Meg! Wake-up if you want some breakfast! We are going down to the café!"

"Okay!" Meg yelled, "Wait for me to get dressed!"

"It's just the café… You don't have to dress like you're going to a fashion show!" She yelled laughingly.

I was a little bit startled. Christine seemed to be doing remarkably well, considering the torrent of grief she had been experiencing only two days earlier. Had the fop actually done something right for her?

I shook my head, that couldn't be it.

"Thank you Raoul," Christine whispered. "For everything yesterday."

Damn.

"I would do anything to make you happy Christine." Raoul said charmingly, and I could picture Christine's face blushing at the affection.

"No Christine!" I muttered. She needed somebody so badly that she had forgiven the fop easily, and was now overlooking over any flaw he had. It was infuriating.

"Well," Meg's chipper voice sounded. "I'm ready to go if you are."

"We're ready." Raoul said happily and I heard the door open and close.

Quickly, I climbed out of the car, pulling the hood on my black jacket forward so it shadowed my face. After the three of them began walking down the street, I followed about twenty feet behind them, not wanting to be detected.

When they entered the café, I waited a few moments, then stole inside and sat at a table where I could easily see them, but where their eyes probably wouldn't find me.

"So," Raoul said quietly, but my keen hearing was still able to hear him. "Have you heard anything from the phantom?"

"No," Christine whispered.

"Good," Raoul scoffed, not at all quietly this time. "That man is a monster Christine."

"Raoul," She said half-heartedly. "He's not some evil being…"

"He hurt you Christine." Raoul argued, leaning into the table. "How can you stick up for that thing?"

"He did teach me for a while before he did that," She argued sharply, but her tone quickly turned wistful. "My voice really took off with him…"

"You aren't going back to him are you?" Raoul said sharply and rage began to stir in my stomach. How dare he tell Christine what to do?

"Of course not Raoul," She sighed. "I just wish you wouldn't be quite so hard on him."

"Well I wish you wouldn't stick up for him." He retorted, but then his voice went soft. "I just worry about you going back to him… And when you stick up for him…"

"Raoul," She smiled, reaching up a hand to stroke his face "I'm not going anywhere."

"But…"

"I choose to be with you." She stated simply, and paused for a moment, a slightly pained expression momentarily crossing her features. However, she quickly masked it, smiling at Raoul. "It's not like the phantom and I could ever actually be together."

My whole world came to stop. Without another word, I stood and walked silently out of the café, returning to the area by the theatre where I had parked my car. Over and over, Christine's words kept running over in my head.

_"It's not like the phantom and I could ever actually be together." _

"It's not as if I didn't already know that," I argued against the agony that was twisting through my heart. Something made it feel worse, hearing that admission from her lovely, pink lips.

I peeled out of the parking spot I was in, speeding down the road as fast as I could with the traffic congestion, heading toward the Southern limits of the city.

I drove for nearly seven hours, until I reached the forested countryside that harboured my house. I had built it years ago as an escape from society, an extravagant house completely hidden in trees, with no metropolitan areas close to it, but I hadn't actually visited the building for years.

My car pulled into the over grown driveway, and I fished the dusty old garage door opener out of the bottom of the center console where it had sat for several years. After parking, I entered the foyer of the house.

A thin layer of dust coated everything, due to the years of negligence, but other than that everything was exactly as I had left it.

Deep black tile covered the entire floor, and the black walls were adorned with several paintings by Salvador Dali, adding a touch of colour to the room. A small chandelier was the dominant feature in the room that was otherwise absent of furniture.

Although the décor was similar in this house to that of my other home, the biggest difference was how open this house was. Unlike the long corridor that segregated all the rooms in the underground house, the entire ground floor of this home was almost entirely open.

Smiling to myself, I fetched some cleaning supplies from one of the closets, and began to wash, dust and clean ever surface in the house.

I was just beginning to clean the floor when I heard the door open. I growled in frustration; I had too much to do for him to be pestering me.

"Nadir!" I yelled. "I am very busy, and should very much like it if you would leave."

"It's nice to see you too Erik!" He chuckled, walking into the room despite me telling him to leave.

True to his usual, peculiar style, he wore a grey, pinstriped suit and a bright orange dress shirt. A bright blue bow-tie was secured at his throat, and he still carried the extravagant cane that he had brought with him from the Middle-East. To top it all off he wore slick black dress-shoes, where you could see a bit of his bright blue socks.

"What do you want?" I grumbled, glaring at him.

"Why are you here Erik?" Nadir ignored my question. "You haven't been here in years."

"I had some business to attend to." I said sharply.

"Erik," Nadir looked at me skeptically. "What happened with Christine? You and I both know that she has everything to do with the 'business' that brought you here."

"It's none of your business Nadir." I spat.

"Well I saw her a while ago, and she seemed incredibly distraught, so you may want to be careful not to upset her." He spoke softly.

I jerked around to face him. "When did you see Christine?"

"A little while ago." He grinned, knowing he finally had my full attention. "I gave her a ride home. That's why I've been trying to contact you."

"You gave her a ride?!" I sputtered in shock, "How do you two know each other?"

"We don't," He answered simply. "I was at dinner at Daniel, and when I went outside there was a young couple sitting in a Jaguar screaming at each other."

He stopped for a moment, thinking. "Well, actually it was more the girl screaming at the man who was driving. He didn't really get a word in."

The corners of my mouth twitched up as I struggled not to smile. That sounded like Christine. "Go on."

"So anyways, she climbed out of the car, crying, and he drove away so I offered her a ride home. It wasn't until I dropped her off at the theatre and asked her name that I realized she was your Christine." He finished.

"Nadir, do you always give random young girls rides home from restaurants?" I asked mockingly.

He looked at me seriously. "You didn't see her face Erik… I wasn't going to just leave her on the sidewalk crying."

"Actually I did see her face," I retorted. "Why do you think she asked you to drop her off at the theatre?"

"Then you know why I wouldn't have just left her standing there. Really, you should be saying thank-you to me, and be glad she didn't get in some other stranger's car!" He exclaimed.

"Thank you Nadir." I said sincerely, "But I really do have things to do, so if you would leave me in peace it would be much appreciated."

"Okay Erik," He sighed, "I drove seven hours out here just to tell you that I ran into Christine, since you haven't been taking my calls, and now you're sending me home!"

"Goodbye Nadir!" I chuckled, escorting him out the door.

"Goodbye Erik!" He called, and sped away in his black Mercedes.

Chuckling to myself at Nadir, I grabbed the mop and broom and began to clean the floors.

Every surface of the house had to be perfect… Christine would be arriving soon.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Sorry for the wait for this chapter, but to make up for it, it's super long! There just wasn't a good place to cut it off, and I needed to do some stuff in Christine's POV, so this is basically two chapters in one, big 6500 word chapter **** Extra reviews for the extra-long chapter please? Thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter… It means a lot. I apologise for any errors in this chapter, I wanted to update it before I get really busy again so it was edited in a hurry.**

**Later in this chapter, there's a song playing called **_**The Second Waltz**_**, and here's the youtube link if you want to listen to it (I think it's pretty great) ** watch?v=mmCnQDUSO4I

**Also, the pictures of Christine and Meg's masquerade dresses will be up on my profile in the next couple days if you care to look. **

**Enjoy!**

Raoul helped me out of his car, wrapping his arms protectively around me and leading me into Meg and I's apartment building. I clutched his muscular frame as tightly as I could, afraid my legs would collapse out from under me if I let go.

"It's okay Christine," He whispered soothingly, "I'm here."

I nodded as I shakily stepped up the stairs. I started to sob again, my entire body feeling shaky and my head beginning to throb where I had hit it on Erik's chair.

"Oh Christine," Raoul sighed, scooping me up into his arms without another word. I wrapped my arms around his neck, clutching to him like life itself.

Raoul must have been even stronger than I gave him credit for, since he managed to take the key I gave him, unlock and open the door and take me inside all without putting me down. As soon as we walked in the door, Meg ran to my side.

"What the Hell happened?" She cried, touching my shoulder gently.

"Christine is about to tell us." Raoul said calmly, his time as a paramedic giving him the ability to remain much calmer than Meg.

Carefully, Raoul sat down on the couch, keeping me on his lap. Despite the fact that we were sitting now, I clung to his shirt, terrified that he would disappear just like everything else good in my life.

"You can relax Christine," Raoul whispered soothingly in my ear, sounding more like a paramedic at the scene of an emergency than my boyfriend. "I'm not going anywhere. You're safe."

"I don't even know where to start." I admitted, struggling to control my sobs.

"How about the beginning?" Meg prompted softly, resting a hand on my shoulder.

I told them everything.

I started by telling them how I had met Erik, and continued to tell them about my voice lessons and all the other instances that I had gone to visit him. As soon as I began to talk, I realized how much I had wanted to tell Meg and Raoul about this, and the words cascaded out of my mouth like I had broken a damn. I told them how I had discovered that he was secretly the infamous phantom of the opera, and how I had gone to see him after Raoul and I had fought outside Daniel.

Raoul tensed as I said this, but I pretended not to notice. I told them every little detail about our encounters, only omitting the personal information Erik or I had shared that I didn't feel they needed to know.

Then I came to last night's and today's events, taking a deep breath before continuing to plough through the story.

"So he met me in my dressing room after you left Raoul, and we sang together, and went to his home." For a reason that I couldn't distinguish, I felt like I shouldn't tell Meg and Raoul of Erik's secret home beneath the opera house.

I continued, telling them about Erik's magnificent song, and how I had unintentionally fallen asleep.

As I approached the part where I would have to retell why I was such a mess, I began to cry harder, not just small sobs, but full-blown bawling.

I told them of my curiosity, and how I had ventured into Erik's room…

Then of his fury, and how he had thrown me to the ground and how I had hit my head on his chair, and tried to run away. I amended the part about me jumping into the lake, instead saying that I had nearly run out into traffic. I then concluded by telling them how Erik had stopped me, and how I had insisted on being dropped off at the opera house.

I turned my head, continuing to cry into Erik's shirt as he gently rubbed circles into my back. I could tell that he and Meg were looking at each other with concern, but at this moment I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Christine," Raoul spoke softly after a couple seconds. "We should maybe take you to the hospital to get checked out, especially if you hit your head."

"No!" I exclaimed, "Can't you just check me out here? I really don't want to go anywhere."

"I can give you a quick look-over but I don't have any equipment…" He started to protest.

"That's fine." I said adamantly.

"You're going to have get off my lap for a minute." He smiled, and began tenderly touching my head, and feeling my bruised shoulder.

"Christine," Meg started talking cautiously. "I think that we should maybe go to the police about this."

"No!" I shook my head sharply, earning myself more pain. She looked at me with a confused expression on her face.

"No Meg," I said more calmly, "If we involve the police then I'm going to be stuck reliving it for months. I just want to move on."

"Okay," She said warily, smiling faintly. "If you're sure."

"I am," I sound with finality.

"Well," Raoul stood up from where he had been kneeling and feeling my arm and shoulder. "From what I can tell, you most likely don't have a concussion and no bones are broken. You'll probably have some nasty bruising in the morning though."

"Thanks Raoul," I said gratefully.

"You should eat something." Meg said quickly. "I'm going to go out and get you some food… What do you want?"

"Doesn't matter," I smiled half-heartedly. "As long as it's food I'll eat it."

"Okay," She smiled softly, grabbing her coat as she hurried out the door.

"What do you want to do?" Raoul asked gently, sitting next to me and draping his arm across my shoulders.

"It really doesn't matter," I said again, "Anything except talking."

"How about a movie?" He said cheerfully.

"Sure."

He started sifting through Meg and I's DVD collection. "All you have down here is musicals!" He chuckled.

"That's the best kind of movie." I retorted, causing him to smile at me.

"Isn't there any musicals that aren't fluffy romances?" He wrinkled his nose.

"Very few," I smiled, for once not really wanting to watch a corny romance. "Try Sweeney Todd if you want action violence instead of just watching romance. The lead lady bakes people into pies."

"Sweeney Todd it is!" He exclaimed, popping it into the DVD player and sitting next to me so I could cuddle into his side. Meg came back about twenty minutes later, sitting down with us to let Sondheim's music and Tim Burton's love of gore take our minds off everything.

Once the movie ended Meg immediately left to go to bed, claiming that she was simply exhausted. I was content to stay in Raoul's arms, scared of what nightmares might await me if I fell asleep.

"Well that was a good musical." He whispered in my ear. "I especially liked the part where everybody died."

"Ha ha ha," I mocked, turning around so I could playfully smack his shoulder. "You are such a guy."

"Of course I am!" He exclaimed loudly, and I giggled, pressing a finger to his lips to try and quiet him down.

"Shut up," I whispered, putting my hands on my hips. "Meg is trying to sleep."

"Okay," He whispered, and his lips were on mine.

At first I was hesitant, sitting there still as a rock as his lips tenderly coaxed me to respond. What if he wanted more? What was I prepared to do? Thoughts of Erik's warnings shot through my mind… He had warned me to stay away from Raoul…

I mentally chastised myself. I was overthinking just like I usually did, and for once I wanted my mind not to think at all… I forced all thoughts of Erik out of my mind and simply allowed my body to feel.

I threw my arms around his neck and responded hungrily, pulling my body to his and not caring about the pain I was getting from my head. Instantly he eagerly complied, his tender kiss turning deep and passionate. His arms wrapped around my back, pulling my small body even tighter to his chiseled chest. All the pain disappeared.

My fingers laced themselves into his blonde hair, then began trailing down to his shoulders and arms. I kissed him harder, just letting my body feel for once.

"You are so sexy." He whispered, placing a kiss on my neck. I tried not to cringe at his use of the word "Sexy."

_Don't think Christine, don't think…_

Instead I let out a little groan as he lowered himself onto the sofa, my petite body resting on top of his. I ran my hands along his sides and he let out a groan of pleasure, his fingers gently feeling my stomach underneath my lose, disheveled shirt.

Soon his hands trailed down, cupping my backside.

My brain immediately put on the brakes. _This is going too quickly…_

His fingers started playing with the waistband of my jeans, as he kissed my neck again.

_I'm not ready for this! _My brain finally caught up with me and I jumped off him, running my hands through my messy, disheveled hair.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, looking at the hurt in his eyes. "I just… I'm not ready and… I just need a minute."

I fled to my room, closing the door tightly behind me. As soon as the door closed I collapsed onto the bed and began to sob.

What was I doing? Throwing myself at Raoul like that, knowing fully that I wasn't ready to take things that far? I saw the look of hurt in his eyes as I fled away from him. Why couldn't I avoid hurting the ones I loved?

I saw Erik's face, and his kind eyes and empathetic voice and pictured the disapproval he would feel if he knew how I had thrown myself at someone.

Memories of Buquet's attack violently assaulted my mind; the disgusting feeling of his lips where Raoul's had been only moments before, his greasy fingers trailing down my side where Raoul's had…

_Raoul's different than Buquet! _I screamed in my mind. _Raoul would never hurt you._

But he would probably leave after the way I had just played with him like that. Allowing things to go that far, then jumping away from him.

I began to cry even harder, curling up into a ball to try and contain all the emotions I was feeling.

I was crying so hard that I barely even noticed the door quietly creaking open.

"Shhh," Raoul's voice was behind me, his fingers gently stroking my hair. "It's okay Christine, everything is going to be okay."

"I'm so sorry!" I cried, sitting up and trying to rub the tears out of my eyes. "I'm just so confused, and I swear it's not you…"

"Christine," He cut me off gently. "I know you've been through a lot today and I shouldn't have pushed you like that. You shouldn't be sorry that you weren't ready."

"B-but…"

"Shhh," He whispered again, rubbing my back. After my crying eventually stopped he stood up, heading toward the door. "I should probably leave now… Goodnight Christine."

"Wait!" I croaked as he neared the door, my voice raw from crying. As confused and sad as I was, I didn't think I could bear to be alone. "Please stay."

"Of course," He whispered, coming over to the bed and wrapping his arms around me. I nestled into his arms, picturing Erik's protective embrace the day Buquet attacked me. It was the haunting bars of Erik's melody replaying in my head that eventually lulled me to sleep.

Weeks passed without any type of contact from Erik. Although I thought I saw him once in the café, right after I had confirmed to Raoul that I chose him, but I wasn't completely sure.

Something had died in me that day, a little piece of music in my heart, as I fully realized that Erik and I would never truly be together. A part of me had been hoping since the very beginning that things would turn out that way, but it took truly losing Erik for me to actually realize it.

Of course, he really deserved the blame. As much as I wanted my fantasy to come true, I had seen a darker side of Erik that day in the cavern; one that was horrible, angry and downright terrifying. How could I choose to be with a man when a piece of him was like that, dwelling directly underneath the surface?

I seemed to have settled into a kind of routine; Go to rehearsals (I had been cast in a larger role than simply a chorus girl, even though Carlotta returned after the "Phantom" disappeared), hang out with Meg and a couple of her friends after rehearsals, and go out with Raoul in the evening.

As Christmas drew nearer, I ended up going to more and more of Raoul's society events; stuffing myself into fancy dresses and pinching my feet into high heels so I could go make useless small talk with his friends and his parent's friends.

Out of everything, the only event I was actually looking forward to was the masquerade ball on December 21. I couldn't completely understand why, but there seemed to be an appeal in tglamour and mystery that accompanied a masquerade.

"Christine!" Meg called from across the dressing room, startling me out of my thoughts. "Don't forget that you and I are going dress shopping for our masquerade gowns tonight!"

"Ugh!" I groaned. No matter how many times I went dress shopping, which was becoming more and more as Raoul drew me into his society, I still couldn't bring myself to enjoy it. "Can't you just pick me something out for me?"

"You are not allowed to cancel Christine!" She stormed over to me, waving her finger in my face. "If you make me buy something for you by myself I am going to make you look like a cow!"

"Okay, okay!" I threw up my hands in protest. "I'll go!"

"Yes you will." She huffed, turning around and grabbing her stuff as I slung my bag over my shoulder.

"How are we getting there?" I questioned as Meg quickly led me out the door. I had looked up the place Raoul had told us to go last night, and it was quite a ways from the theatre.

"Surprise!" Raoul exclaimed, holding his arms out as I opened the doors.

"Raoul!" I exclaimed, planting a quick kiss on his mouth. "I thought you were working today!"

"I got the day off," He shrugged. "I need a new suit, and so does Seth."

I finally noticed the man standing behind Raoul, his arms awkwardly in his pockets. He had curly brown hair and deep brown eyes with a cute, boyish smile. Personally I didn't find him to be as attractive as Raoul, but a quick glance in Meg's direction told me she thought otherwise.

"Meg, Christine, this is Seth." Raoul introduced us, stepping to the side so his friend could step forward to meet us.

"Nice to meet you." He smiled directly at Meg.

"Nice to meet you too." She smiled flirtatiously.

"Well, shall we go?" Raoul held open the passenger door for me, and Seth held open the back door for Meg, letting her climb in first.

Meg and Seth chatted animatedly in the backseat, literally launching into conversation as soon as they sat down. Surprisingly, they seemed to have a lot in common and there was never a gap in their constant stream of chatter.

"You sly fox." I muttered under my breath, poking Raoul in the shoulder. When he looked at me innocently I giggled. "You're trying to set up Meg and Seth aren't you?"

"Yes," He said bluntly, unashamed of this fact. "I noticed how similar they were and Seth doesn't have a date to the masquerade."

"You're actually pretty clever." I admitted, and he glanced at me, trying to look offended.

"Why do you sound so surprised?!"

We both chuckled, talking easily until Raoul parked in a parkade near the dress-shop. Meg and I started walking toward the dress-shop, both the guys following us.

"Oh know you don't!" She rounded on them as they tried to follow us into the dress-shop. "You aren't coming in here with us… I want our dresses to be a surprise."

"Well what colour are you going with Christine?" Raoul sighed. "I want to make sure I match."

"Well I was thinking…" I started thoughtfully, but Meg cut me off.

"Red." She said with finality. "Christine will be wearing red, and I'll be wearing blue and green."

"Remember that this is ridiculously formal, so nothing is too much…" Raoul started, but Meg cut him off too, pushing me through the door as she yelled over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know! I'll get Christine to call you when we need you to pay!" I blushed at this comment, but my eyes were immediately assaulted with the most splendid gowns I had ever seen.

"Oh my gosh," I muttered, taking in all of the lavish fabrics around me.

"Stop gawking and follow me." She grabbed my hand and walked directly to one of the salesladies. "Excuse me, but my friend and I are going to an incredibly formal masquerade, and we were wondering if you could help us find some gowns."

"Of course," She smiled warmly at us, much better than the lady at the other dress-shop. "If you don't mind me asking, which masquerade are you going to?"

"The one at the de Chagny mansion." I answered before Meg could jump in.

"Oh my goodness!" The lady practically squealed. "That's only the most incredible party of the year… Everybody tried to throw a part as wonderful as the de Chagny's, but everyone knows that nothing they do will even compare. How did you even manage to get invited!"

"Raoul de Chagny is my boyfriend." I smiled as a huge grin spread across the lady's face.

"You are one lucky girl!" She smiled.

"So about our dresses…" Meg started.

"Of course!" She exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "What did you two have in mind?"

"Well I want something peacock inspired," Meg answered thoughtfully. "Something funky, but still classy. And for Christine I was thinking a rose; an elegant red gown with just enough sex-appeal and some rose detailing."

"Sounds stunning!" She said excitedly. "I know exactly what to pull for your peacock dress."

She strode purposefully toward one of the rack, stopping for a moment and turning around to look at us. "Oh, and my name is Lisa just so you know."

Meg and I took a seat outside one of the dressing rooms as Lisa came back with a stunning peacock gown in her arms.

Meg practically squealed as Lisa motioned her in the dressing room to try it on.

Needless to say, it was stunning on her. It was as I the dress had been made for Meg, and aside from a couple minor alterations it fit her perfectly.

When it came my turn, I entered the room nervously, seeing only the humongous skirt of the red gown. Lisa helped me pull it over my head, lacing up the corset back for me.

"This fits you absolutely perfectly," she said with surprise. "It doesn't even need to be hemmed!"

As soon as she was done, I turned around slowly, looking at myself in the full size mirror.

My hand flew to my mouth as a grin spread across my face.

The gown was stunning.

_I _was stunning.

"Meg!" I squealed, practically running out of the change room to show her.

"Oh my goodness." She said, her jaw dropping. "You look absolutely magnificent Chris!"

"I know," I grinned, turning to look at the back of the gown.

"Done," Meg said simply. "That's your dress Christine."

"Yes it is." I nodded, returning to the change room to get changed.

The saleslady told Meg and I that we could pick up our dresses the next week, since Meg's needed alterations, and that all we had to leave was a deposit for them.

When I walked out of the fitting room, feeling plain in jeans and a shirt after wearing the extravagant gown, Raoul and Seth were already at the counter.

"I hope you don't mind, I called him on your phone." She smiled at me as we walked toward the two guys.

"Whatever," I said dismissively with a wave of my hand, walking up to the boys. "Did you find what you needed."

"Yes," Raoul smiled charmingly. "I'm going to look quite dashing."

"Of course you will." I grinned, pushing him playfully.

"Couples," Meg rolled her eyes.

"Tell me about it." Seth sighed, grinning at Meg flirtatiously. Raoul had certainly done well with these two.

"Well, we should probably go." Raoul sighed, glancing at the time on his iPhone. "Mom and dad want me there for some meeting with one of the party planners and I have to drive all you home."

"Okay," I smiled as the four of us left the building and made our way to Raoul's car.

I couldn't stop smiling as Raoul and I sat there in comfortable silence, listening to the buzz of Meg and Seth's endless talking. For the first time since I had turned away from Erik, I felt genuinely happy.

Finally, the day of the masquerade had arrived.

Meg and I were giddy with excitement as we walked to a nearby salon to get our hair and make-up professionally done. We had picked up the dresses last week, and had both managed to find beautiful masks and shoes that matched them perfectly.

Needless to say, we were both giddy with excitement.

The girls doing my hair worked relentlessly, doing everything in their power to work with my untameable curls instead of against them.

"Your hair is simply gorgeous!" Both of them chimed over and over again, but the frustrated looks on their faces told me otherwise.

Meg was done getting her hair and makeup done an hour before I was even done getting my hair. Luckily, she waited patiently until I was finished before we both left to walk home.

"You look so beautiful Chris!" Meg exclaimed as we both walked through the door to our home, thankful that it wasn't windy or snowing outside.

"You look even better," I blushed. "Seth is lucky to be going with you."

Not at all to my surprise, Seth had asked Meg to accompany him to the masquerade when we had left to pick up the guys' suits and our dresses. Obviously, Meg had said yes; she was already head over heels for the guy.

We took our time putting our dresses on, and making sure the masks sat perfectly over our hair. When I was completely ready, I walked over to stand in front of the full length mirror that Meg had bought specifically for this occasion.

I didn't even recognize myself.

My black heels were completely covered by the voluminous skirt of the dress, the bottom of the skirt just sweeping the floor. The skirt had small pick-ups somewhat-diagonally down the skirt, a small rose in the center of each pick-up. Three large roses sat at my hip where the skirt pulled tightly in, becoming smooth across my torso all the way up to the faint sweetheart neckline.

The black I had chosen looked like delicate lace across my face, the swirls and twists of the pattern dancing across it like a beautiful melody. Bright red lips and my bright green eyes popped against my pale skin. Finally, my usually unruly curls were piled delicately on top of my head, one single ringlet let down to frame my face.

"You look beautiful Chris." I turned around to see Meg smiling at me, looking every bit as gorgeous as I did.

"You are stunning Meg." I said in response.

Personally, I thought Meg looked much more like herself. The blues and greens of her funky peacock gown highlighted her bright blue eyes perfectly. So as not to overpower the gown, her hair stylist had expertly teased her blonde hair into a simple up-do.

We were still gushing over how we both looked when there was a knock on the door. Looking at each other excitedly, Meg opened the door to reveal two very sharply dressed men.

Raoul had chosen a simply black suit, but had added a red tie and red mask to match me. Seth had obviously done the same thing, choosing to add a blue vest under her black suit jacket with a green mask.

"Are you two too cool for costumes?" Meg teased as Seth came to stand beside her.

"Just wanted to look classy." He smiled back. "You look gorgeous Meg."

"Thank you," She grinned, "You don't look too bad yourself."

Raoul came and stood in front of me resting his hands gently on my waist. "You look beautiful."

"And you look very dashing." I smiled, and he leaned down to kiss me.

It was a quick, passionate kiss, him pulling me tightly against him, trailing his hands down my back. It was me who had to pull away, even though I didn't want to.

"Be good," I said breathlessly, "You are going to mess up my hair! And you're lucky the make-up lady used lip stain, or you would have lipstick all over you now."

"Fine then," He whispered, lowering his face close to mine. "Just for tonight, I'll be good."

"Thank you." I whispered back.

"Well," Meg said loudly. "I don't know about you two lovebirds, but I kind of want to go to the masquerade that we are all dressed up to go to."

"Of course," Raoul smiled without breaking eye contact with me. He and Seth both held out their arms for Meg and I, which we eagerly took. "Our limo awaits."

He wasn't kidding. A sleek, black limousine waited at the curb, a chauffeur holding the door open for Meg and I. Inside, Raoul sat as close as he could without sitting on the skirt of my dress.

We rode in silence all the way to the de Chagny mansion, the excitement tangible as everyone eagerly awaited the most talked-about night of the year.

As we began to pull into their large, circular driveway, I pressed my face to the window, eager to take in every detail.

It was like a page from a story book.

Elegantly dressed men helped women with spectacular gowns out of limousines, leading them up the front staircase of the mansion.

As we stopped at the curb, Raoul and Seth climbed out of the limo first, turning to help Meg and I.

"So when we get inside they are going to announce us." Raoul whispered under his breath as we reached the door.

"Why?" I whispered back.

He shrugged lightly, "My mom likes to think she's some type of royalty, I think it makes her feel important when everybody is announced."

"Kind of ironic isn't it? Introducing people at a masquerade?" I whispered, earning a small chuckle from Raoul.

When the time came to enter the ballroom, Meg and Seth went in first.

"Seth Prescott and Meg Giry!" I heard a man yell loudly as they walked through the doors.

"Our turn." Raoul whispered with a smile.

We walked through the doors, both smiling as the man called our names.

"Raoul de Chagny and Christine Daae!" He called, and everybody turned around eager to see who Raoul de Chagny had brought with him to his parents' party.

I smiled widely, holding my head high as Raoul and I walked into the room. Luckily there were very few stairs to go down, giving me less of an opportunity to trip.

As soon as we reached the ground people crowded around us, not even bothering to see who came in next.

"I'm Dania Wood." I white-gloved lady smiled a wide, fake grin at me.

"Christine Daae."

I introduced myself to everybody that came to talk to us, listening and adding to the conversation when I necessary.

"You're quite popular." I whispered to Raoul, once the group of people had thinned.

"No you are." He smiled at me. "Everybody wants to meet you, not me."

"Well it makes me feel kind of awkward." I giggled.

"You're doing brilliantly." He gave me a quick peck on the lips, then held out his arm. "Do you want to dance?"

"Of course."

We twirled effortlessly across the floor, the live orchestra playing a lively waltz. I was pleasantly surprised at how light my skirt actually was, making dancing surprisingly easy.

Everybody danced magnificently, and I felt like Cinderella, finally finding her Prince Charming at a magnificent ball.

"Christine, will you do me a favour?" He spoke into my ear, drawing me closer as we danced.

"Of course, what do you need?" I responded immediately.

"Well," He started, for once sounding unsure of himself. "I was wondering if you would dance once with Phillip."

I groaned, "Why?"

"Um," He said carefully, forming his words slowly. "He kind of told my mom that you were being rude after dinner and I want to show her that isn't true."

"What?" I said in shock, missing a step and stumbling a little into Raoul's arms before I regained the rhythm of the dance. I looked up to where his mom was sitting, shooting glances at the two of us.

"He's an ass," Raoul said, pleading with me. "Please?"

"Fine," I sighed, "But I'm not going to put up with him being an asshole."

"I know you won't," He grinned at me. "That's one of the things I love about you."

I giggled, just as someone came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?"

"Of course not Phillip," Raoul sighed, sending one last apologetic look in my direction before he turned and walked away.

I turned and took Phillip's hand as he calmly rested his hand on my hip, much too close to my butt for my liking. I gave him a look, and moved his hand up to my waist.

Slowly, we began to dance.

"You look stunning," Phillip said lazily, looking me up and down a couple times. "Much better than the other women in this room."

"Thanks," I said shortly, stiffening as his eyes stopped at my chest. "Do you have a date tonight?"

"No," He grinned cheekily at me. "I decided to come by myself and see what happened."

"Mmm hmm," I raised my eyebrows, refusing to play his game. "Of course you know I came _with _a date."

"Yes, my baby brother." He laughed. "It's a real shame."

"Raoul is an amazing man." I said passionately, looking Phillip straight in the eyes. "I'm happy that I came here with him."

"Raoul isn't that bad," He said sincerely surprising me. He took advantage of my surprise to pull me closer, leaning down to whisper in my ear.

"The only thing that sucks about you coming here with Raoul is that it makes you temporarily unavailable to me." He said sensually, breathing down my neck as I tried to step back.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" A voice spoke behind my shoulder, and I nearly screamed with relief.

"Of course," Phillip said shortly, leaning close to me to whisper in my ear again before he released my waist. "Until we meet again."

I wrinkled my nose at him as he walked away.

"Thank you so much," I started, turning to face my savior. "For rescuing me from that awkward…"

My words stopped dead in my throat. I would recognize those golden eyes anywhere.

**"**No…" I whispered as Erik wordlessly took my hand and my waist and began to dance me around the floor, just as Dmitri Shostakovich's Second Waltz began to play.

"What are you doing here?" I spat, glaring at him as we twirled across the room. I knew I should storm away from him right now, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to.

"Dancing." He said simply.

"You know what I mean Erik." I said with frustration as he twirled me out, then pulled me back into the waltz.

"I enjoy masquerades." He smiled through his usual white mask, wearing the black suit that he had worn every time I had seen him. "No one looks at you peculiarly for wearing a mask."

"Why?" I whispered. "Why did you have to interrupt my life again?"

"Your voice cannot be allowed to lay dormant," He said coldly. "And your pride was apparently too great to allow you to return as my student."

"My pride?" I said in shock. "You think it was my _pride_ keeping me away from you?!" My voice had escalated and a nearby couple turned and looked at us. I struggled to keep my voice and emotions under control.

"Pride and fear are very different feelings Erik," I said as coldly as I could manage. A flash of hurt crossed his eyes so quickly that I might have imagined it, but his cold mask returned immediately.

"I apologised already Christine." He said sharply. "What more would you have me do?"

"This isn't about you." I said as softly as I could. A single tear slid down my cheek. "Don't you see Erik? I was happy! I'm happy with Raoul."

"Ah," He said, twirling me again, but this time pulling closer when he pulled me back in. He rested his hand firmly on the small of my back, our bodies almost touching. A shiver travelled down my spine as he leaned his face down to look at me, and I looked up at him, our noses almost touching. "So you go crawling back to the fop."

"I didn't go 'crawling back' to Raoul." I protested fiercely. "I chose him Erik. It's not like you ever expressed any romantic feelings toward me, and Raoul cares for me."

"You are not a child Christine." Erik spoke softly, pulling me in to him so that our bodies were locked against each other. People were watching now, but I didn't care anymore. "You know that you need more than 'care,' you need a partner."

Fury and desire flooded into me at once, a terrifying mix of emotions. I was not supposed to feel desire for Erik, plain and simple. Raoul was my boyfriend, and when he kissed me, it was wonderful, and sexy…

But being held against Erik was different. It was sensually musical, not only delighting my body, but my mind and heart as well…

I couldn't go there. I buried the desire as best I could, instead confronting the rage that filled me.

"How dare you." I spat at him, my voice rising. "How dare you come here, after weeks of silence, and tell me how to live my life?! You could have been there, but _you _chose not to be by treating me that way Erik, so don't you dare pretend this is my fault."

He stared at me openly, for once speechless.

"I made my choice Erik." I said firmly, despite all the doubts that were rising up in me at that moment. "So don't you dare come waltzing into my life again."

Rage quelled in my heart, curiosity burning through me, before Erik could even utter a word, I reached up and ripped the mask off his face.

Someone screamed. I realized a second later it was me. The orchestra abruptly stopped playing as everybody turned to look at Erik.

The other side of Erik's was horribly deformed, the skin twisted and marred in unnatural ways. There were places where it looked like I was seeing bone.

What had I done? Why had I brought this humiliation on my angel?

His face contorted into a look of pain, as he looked at me. People around us began screaming and running. Seconds later, pure rage replaced the look of pain on Erik's face.

"NOOOO!" He screamed, running toward me. Terrified, I turned and tried to run from him, but Erik would have been faster than me even if I hadn't been wearing the humongous gown.

He caught my wrist tightly, not breaking pace as he pulled me along with him. I struggled, trying to pry his fingers from my wrist, but at the pace he was going I had to either run or be dragged along the floor.

"Raoul!" I screamed, as he fought through people to get to me.

"Christine!" He looked horrified and scared, throwing people out of the way. "Damn it, move!"

Meg and Seth were at his side, fighting through people as well, although he was moving the quickest.

Luckily for me, my heels didn't allow me to run very quickly, and Raoul was gaining on us.

Erik growled, stopping abruptly at the base of the staircase, and expertly twisting so that my back was pressed against his chest, his arm wrapped around my neck. Immediately my hands came up to his arm, trying desperately to pull it away from my throat.

"I'm so sorry Christine, but you've forced my hand." He whispered so quietly that I could barely hear it, I wasn't even sure if he meant me to. Soon something cold and metal was pressed to my skull; I didn't even have to see it to know it was a gun.

Raoul came to an abrupt halt about ten feet away from us, looking at me with terror in his eyes. He held his hands up in front of him, a signal of surrender.

"Stay back," Erik warned menacingly, practically pulling me backwards up the stairs. I stumbled at every step, my shoes and dress making it difficult to step up, as well as my trembling legs. Tears streamed down my face, pure fear seeping into my very bones.

"Erik, please…" I whimpered, but his hold didn't lessen.

Slowly we backed up the stairs, until we finally reached the landing at the top.

"Nobody follow us." Erik warned in his terrifying voice, staring directly at Raoul. "If you do, you'll be sorry."

All of a sudden he swept me up into his arms and ran faster than anybody should have been able to with the weight of me and the gown.

"No!" I shrieked, struggling to get out of his grasp, but the beautiful red dress weighed me down too much for me to struggle very much.

He finally stopped outside of a black Mercedes, practically stuffing me into the passenger seat. I struggled to unlock the door and flung it open just as Erik sat in the driver's seat, trying to get out of the car.

"Christine," Erik grunted, grabbing my waist and pulling me back onto the seat. I screamed again and he sighed, pulling something out of his pocket and holding it over my mouth and nose.

I slowly stopped struggling slumping into the seat as whatever was on the cloth tried to drag me into unconsciousness.

"Don't worry darling," I heard Erik whisper through the haze. "You'll be home soon."

Then I blacked out completely.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: **Thank you to everybody for all the reviews on the last chapter! I I'm glad you like it This one is much shorter, but the next one will be longer and more eventful Just so you know, the song that is used later in the chapter is called _Endless Night, _and it's from the Lion King on broadway. I'm posting this in a hurry since I'm really busy this week, so I apologise for any mistakes I didn't catch.

So enjoy, and please review! (I would really like to hit a hundred reviews, and the hundredth reviewer will get a special preview as well as some of the pictures I've been basing some of my people off of

I sat on a small chair near the door of Christine's room, watching my angel sleep peacefully underneath the thick, deep red, duvet I had picked for her bed. I drummed my fingers against my thigh nervously, awaiting the moment when her eyes would open.

Obviously she would be scared, anxious and mostly likely angry, waking up in a new environment, especially after the traumatic way I had taken her. My fingers stopped drumming and curled tightly around the armrest.

I certainly hadn't meant to take her in such a traumatic way, having to put a gun to her head and pull her up the stairs like I had. It certainly wasn't the way I had planned it! I was simply going to lure her outside take her quietly, without all the commotion.

Of course, she had been the one to yell and then unmask me, that much wasn't my fault. Damn her! She seemed to be the only element in my life that I couldn't plan and predict perfectly! I would have thought that she'd be happy at her angel's return, but she had somehow deluded herself into happiness with that fop…

And then decided that it was a good idea to remove my mask in front of the entire masquerade.

The look of horror on her face as she screamed would haunt me for the rest of my life.

For some reason I had deluded myself into thinking that she would be different if she ever saw my face; that she had the ability to ignore my monstrous appearance and see only the music within my soul. However, she proved to be just like everybody else, screaming in horror at the first sight of me.

If I wasn't so angry about the whole ordeal, I might even be sad about it.

I stared intently at her sleeping face, looking for any sign of movement. Her eyebrows scrunched together, and her peaceful face began to look troubled. She moved slightly, and then began tossing and turning more dramatically.

I looked down at my pocket-watch; she should wake up any minute now. She tossed and turned for a couple more minutes, then her eyelids slowly began to flutter open.

I watched her intently, anxious for her reaction upon waking. She lay there for a moment, taking in her surroundings with her eyes, then brought a hand to her head, carefully pushing herself up.

Her gaze searched the room, confusion evident on her face, until her eyes landed on me.

All of a sudden her eyes widened, and terror crossed her face as the events of the night before came back to her, so I stood up and took a step toward her to reassure her.

She leaped out of bed like a frightened deer, and stumbled into the dresser when a wave of vertigo hit her. She pressed a hand to her forehead, and glanced down at the silk underclothes she was wearing with an appalled look on her face. I sighed; obviously, I had to take her out of the gown, and had simply left her in the undergarments she had on under the humongous dress.

"Christine," I tried to soothe her, taking another step toward her.

She stumbled back into the dresser, pressing herself against it. "S-stay back!" She stuttered. It pained me to see the fear etched across her features.

I held my hands out in front of me in a pleading gesture and took another step forward, desperate to erase her fear of me.

"D-don't come near me!" She shrieked, grabbing a candle holder from behind her and holding it like a weapon. Her hands were shaking, her body still weak from being unconscious for so long.

It was really a pitiful sight, her standing there in her under dress, her entire body shaking, holding a candleholder out at me as if she could actually protect herself in the condition she was in.

"Christine," I took another step forward, trying to reason with her. "Why don't you just lie back down…"

I was focussed so intently on her face, staring her deep in the eyes to try and reassure her, that I didn't see the candle holder until it collided with the unmasked side of my face. MY hand flew up in shock to cover the cut as pain seared across my face and blood trickled down my cheek.

"Christine," The tone of my voice turned to scolding, but she reached behind her and threw a book at me. However, this time I was ready and deftly dodged it, sidestepping so it came nowhere near it. Determined to ease her fear, I took another step toward her.

Tears began to stream down her face, as she threw everything in sight at me. I stopped where I was, easily dodging the un-aimed, hysterical throws. Obviously she just needed to get this out of her system… then she would realize that I had actually done her a favour by taking her here.

Energy spent, she sank to the floor and began to sob, pulling her knees to her chest and burying her face in them. I took the opportunity to kneel beside her, and try to console her again; now that she had all that anger and fear out of her system she would see why I had brought her here.

"Christine," I began, "It really is for the better that you're here… Now you can focus on your music and…"

"That's why you took me here?!" She shrieked hysterically. Her face shot up, and she looked at me, shock etched across her face. "To focus on my MUSIC?!"

"W-well," I flubbed, confused by this reaction. I had thought she would be happy to be able to focus on her music, obviously she loved it. "Among other things."

"What other things," She whispered, her hysteria giving way to anger. I moved backwards a little bit, treading cautiously. "Could possibly justify kidnapping me Erik?!"

She stood up and I stood with her, following her across the room. This kind of emotional behaviour had me completely flabbergasted. "You may not understand now…"

"Then make me understand Erik!" She screamed, poking a finger angrily into my chest. "Make me understand why you've ruined my life, taken me from everyone I've ever loved…"

Her anger was dissipating as quickly as it had come, and tears were welling up in her eyes, threatening to overflow.

"Taken me from Meg, Mama Valerius, Raoul… You were my angel… I trusted you with everything!" The tears streamed down her face once more, but my heart had heartened at the mention of the fop's name. Even now, that she was faced with a life with me, with music, she still mourned the loss of him! How could he have managed to completely delude someone as intelligent as Christine?!

"You will take some time to adjust." I said firmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Then you will…"

"I DON'T WANT TO ADJUST!" She shrieked through her tears, throwing my hand off her shoulder in a hysterical tirade. "I don't want to 'adjust' to whatever life you've deluded yourself into thinking I wanted, I don't want to not have any contact with Meg or Raoul, I don't want to have a life with you!"

"Christine!" I started angrily, trying to stop her before she could drive her dagger of words any further into my heart.

She collapsed into sobs on the floor in front of me. "A-and I d-don't ever want to s-see your h-hideous f-face again!"

"As you wish my dear," I growled, walking quickly over to the door before I truly did something I would regret. "But remember, we are alone here, so if you don't see me, you don't see anybody. And from my experience, performers don't do well in solitude."

I flung open the door and slammed it shut behind, turning my key in the lock I had installed.

"Wait!" She yelled frenziedly, and I heard her scrambling to get up. Her footsteps sprinted to the door, and she grabbed the nob and began to shake it roughly. "Let me out you monster!"

I sat on the ground, for some reason unable to leave her, even through the torrent of insults she threw at me. I was scared of what she might do in this crazed, emotional state and didn't want her to hurt herself.

"You evil, revolting, vile bastard!" She shrieked, hammering her small fists on the door.

After nearly an hour of screaming until her voice was hoarse, and her arms couldn't beat against the door anymore, she finally stopped, falling to the floor and beginning to cry. It was at this point when I was finally able to leave her.

"She will adjust." I assured myself. "That was certainly more emotional than I had expected, but Christine is strong… She'll get through it."

I did menial tasks around the house, wanting to distract myself but for the first time in a long time not feeling like going to the piano. Of course, I knew where I really wanted to be;

With Christine.

Despite all the anger and humiliation running through me at her unmasking me, and her peculiar emotional state upstairs, I wanted to be in her presence. Her voice was like a drug to me; addicting and altogether consuming.

_Maybe she'll be hungry, _I thought as I started grabbing food from around the kitchen and began walking upstairs. Obviously she needed food, and this seemed a good excuse to be close to her.

I was just about to knock on the door when something cause me to freeze…

She was beginning to sing; broken, heart wrenching notes streamed out of her in such a beautiful way. I kneeled down, pressing my ear to the door so I could hear her song better.

"Where has the starlight gone? Dark is the day. How can I find my way home?" She sobbed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her voice continued, getting stronger with every note she sung. "Home is an empty dream,

Lost to the night, Father, I feel so alone!"

Her voice continued to grow, until she was belting out every glorious note with everything she had. "I'm trying to hold on! Just waiting to hear your voice! One word, just one word will do, to end this nightmare!"

"You promised you'd be there! Whenever I needed you! Whenever I call your name, You're not anywhere!" By the time she reached the end of the song, the fire in her voice had all but died completely, and she burst into horrible, fragmented sobs.

Hastily, I stood up and knocked on the door with the food, eager to end her suffering.

"Don't come in!" She sobbed, and anger flared up inside me. Couldn't she see I was trying to help her?!

"Christine," I said softly, pushing the frustration down as much as I could. "I have food for you…I figured you might be…"

"I'm not hungry." She said bluntly, not even letting me finish my statement.

"Christine," I said, the frustration slightly showing in my voice. I unlocked the door and stepped in.

"Get out!" She shrieked, throwing a pillow at me, but I stepped to the side and let it hit the wall behind me. I set the food down on the table next to me, treading carefully. I hadn't expected her to be so hysterical; angry, yes, and sad perhaps, but not in this hysterical state.

"I don't want food!" She yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. She walked up and stood in front of me, holding her hands together and beginning to beg. "Please Erik… Please just let me go."

Tears were streaming down her face, and I couldn't deal with seeing her in this state. I pushed all emotion from my mind, retreating into the dark confines of my logical brain.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," I said coldly.

"Please," She sobbed, clinging to the front of my shirt desperately. "Please Erik… Angel… Please…"

I took her hands and gently unclasped them from my shirt, putting them down at her side. She looked down at the ground, tears silently streaming down her face. I could physically feel her sorrow, and the shriveled up remains of my heart were breaking. For the first time in my life, the logic and darkness of my mind couldn't keep the emotion from flooding in.

"I'll be back for supper." I said shortly, turning on my heel and practically fleeing the room. I locked her door and sprinted to my piano room.

I pulled my mask off as two silent tears trailed down my cheeks as my hands sought my violin and bow, and began to play a soft, painful melody.

I hadn't meant to make her feel that way… I had been trying to help her…

The bow pushed harder on the strings, making the sound come out sharper. I tried to soften my grip on the bow, making the sound more pleasant.

At least she was away from Raoul… That was always a positive thing.

The wheels in mind began to turn as they always did when I played music, and a stroke of genius hit me. All I had to do was create something special for her… Something that would make her see that I was not a villain when it came to her, merely her protector with a marred face.

I smiled widely, grabbing some of my sheet music and beginning to write down the violin notes on the page.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: **First of all, I am so, so, so sorry about how long it took me to put this chapter up… Allow me to take a quick moment to explain what my life has been like for the past month… I went to Australia for two weeks (Which was amazing!), then was home for ten days (Just enough to catch up on school work), and then went to Canada wide science fair for a week. So, with the amount of homework I have had to catch up on, I haven't had time to write Thank you all for sticking with me, and I promise the next update won't take so long!

As for this update, I am currently at home with a wicked head cold so my editing of this chapter might not be stellar… Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and please review!

I had to get out.

If Erik thought I would enjoy being here, he must be completely out of his mind. I hadn't even been locked in that bedroom for an entire day and I felt like my sanity was at risk. Throughout the entire day I had been formulating my escape, desperate to flee this madman.

As soon as Erik left the room after bringing me my food I began to look around the room for a possible escape route. Obviously the door wasn't an option, but I was willing to bet the window was open; he had obviously deluded himself into thinking I'd like it here.

Glancing quickly at the door I walked quietly over to the window and tried the latch. I almost jumped for joy when it swung open letting fresh, cold air inside. Smiling with glee, I firmly closed the window and got back into the bed, wanting to get some sleep in before I made my escape. Smiling to myself at my clever escape plan, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off.

I awoke later that evening, a quick glance at an alarm clock on the nightstand telling me it was about 3:00 am. Quietly, I slid out of bed, tip-toeing across my room as anxiety twisted my stomach. Erik was the most astute, observant person I knew, and if I took one wrong step he could find me. I had no idea how big the house actually was.

I pressed my ear to the door, listening desperately for any sign of Erik. I was greeted by complete silence.

Trying to breathe shallowly, I slowly pulled the closet door open. Obviously I wasn't going to make a run for it in the underclothes I was wearing.

I nearly growled in frustration as I stepped into the giant closet, mountains of brand-new clothes lining the walls. After searching for nearly ten minutes I found a dark green sweater and a pair of jeans, along with a winter jacket and a pair of snow boots. Despite all my looking, I couldn't find a hat or mittens anywhere, and I was running out of time.

I pulled on the clothes quickly, just leaving the underclothes on the ground. I walked as softly as I could in the boots over to the window and undid the latch. Freezing cold air assaulted my face and fingers, but a quick twist of the frame had the screen out.

Clenching my jaw as I turned around and lowered myself out the window, I hoped my feet would reach the outset of the roof below my window. I clutched the window sill tightly, dangling out of the window without my feet touching anything.

I steeled myself for the drop, letting go of the frame and stifling a scream. My feet hit the roof almost instantly, catching me off guard and sending me sliding down the roof. I bit back a shriek, scrambling to grab something to keep myself from falling. However, the snow covering Erik's sleek roof made it impossible to grip anything, and I readied myself for the inevitable fall.

Luckily, the snow made the fall not seem as far, and I landed in a relatively deep snow bank. A quick mental survey of myself told me that I luckily hadn't done any more damage than a slightly bruised hip. Quickly, I jumped to my feet, and without another thought made a break for the forest surrounding the clearing Erik's home was in.

As soon as I entered the woods, the forest surrounded me, darkness twisting the harmless shape of the trees into terrifying images. I ran forward, desperately hoping I was going in the right direction. How deep could the woods be?

After running for what felt like forever, all I had accomplished was getting myself deeper into the woods. I stopped to walk, clutching my side and trying to catch my breath despite the freezing cold air that flooded into my lungs. The cold had seeped through my clothing and into my bones, and I wrapped my arms around myself in a desperate attempt to get warm.

As soon as I could breathe again I continued running, keeping my arms around myself to try to stop the shivers that wracked my body. After what felt like forever, my pace slowed and I began to move slowly and lethargically, my numb limbs making it difficult to even walk.

As I continued to walk the darkness began to close in around me, shadowy creatures dancing in front of my eyes. Tears streamed down my iced cheeks as I frantically swatted the branches out of my face, struggling to get through the thickening woods.

Terror surged through my entire body and I began to panic; obviously I was hopelessly lost in the endless forest, and the temperature seemed to be dropping by the minute.

"Oh Erik…" I cried, stumbling forwards. "Why did you do this to me? Why did you take me here?"

Something darted out in front of me and I screamed, falling backwards into the snow.

Afraid, freezing and exhausted, I curled into the snow and continued to cry. "Raoul! Meg!" I sobbed, knowing they couldn't hear me. I was going to die, here, in the snow, and I would never get to tell Meg how much I loved her, or tell Raoul how sorry I was that I kept pushing him away… I would never get to tell Mama Valerius goodbye, or become the prima donna at a theatre. My life was going to end before it had even begun.

"Erik!" I screamed with the last of my energy; despite how angry I was with him, he was definitely my best hope for salvation.

"Erik!" I screamed again, but I didn't have the energy in me to project my voice.

Silence greeted me.

Sobbing, I tucked my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I lay there crying until the darkness finally had the mercy to consume me.

"Christine!" A voice called faintly, as if someone was yelling at me through water. I felt my body being jostled, and then I was moving.

"Christine," Erik's voice called desperately, "Stay with me my dear!"

Glorious, wonderful warmth radiated off his body, and I wrapped my arms around his chest, trying to pull myself closer.

"C-cold," I stuttered, still unable to open my eyes through the exhausted haze that surrounded my brain.

"I know my dear," He soothed, "You'll be warm soon."

Although Erik's running was certainly much smoother than mine, the trees must have made it incredibly difficult for him to carry me through. Once he stumbled, but managed to catch himself without missing a beat.

"Damn it," He growled under his breath, but I was too tired to care about what might by wrong.

"Stay awake Christine," He said softly, but firmly. "I know you're tired, but you have to stay awake."

He must have opened the door without even putting me down, since the beautiful heat of the house flooded around me. I felt myself being carried up stairs.

"I'm going to put you down and grab some blankets; I'll be right back Christine." He spoke urgently, moving to put me down.

"N-No!" My teeth chattered. As the glorious warmth from his body left my side, I began to shiver violently. I heard a voice talking that I didn't even recognize as mine. "D-don't g-go… H-hold m-me."

I clutched his shirt desperately, trying to absorb his body heat.

"Christine," He said, sounding surprised. "I really think I should…"

"P-please!" I cried, trying to squirm underneath his jacket.

"Very well," He said hesitantly, sitting down on the bed and pulling me onto his lap. As I cuddled closer to him he hesitantly put his arms around me.

"S-still c-cold," I whispered, as more shivers wracked my body.

"I know my dear," He said with a desperate hint to his voice. "I'm just going to take your wet coat off and slide us underneath the blankets, alright?"

I just nodded weakly, and suddenly my coat was off and I was even colder. I shivered roughly again, and then felt him sliding us under the blankets, lying me down on the pillow while still keeping his arms around me.

"J-just g-going t-to s-sleep…" My teeth chattered as exhaustion clawed at every inch of my body.

"You can't go to sleep yet Christine." Erik spoke into my ear. "Once you're warmer you can sleep."

"T-too t-tired…" I whispered, another shiver wracking my body.

"Why don't you tell me about how you ended up in opera?"

"W-well," I started, trying to form coherent thoughts through my brain's grogginess. "M-my dad g-got me into m-music."

"Go on…" He prompted.

"H-he used to p-play the violin all the t-time," I started. I was gradually starting to warm up, and my teeth weren't chattering so violently. "A-and I told myself that s-someday I would make m-music as b-beautiful as his."

"So why opera?" He questioned, causing me to continue.

"I-it was either that or m-musicals," I smiled to myself without opening my eyes. "And opera has so much more depth to it… Plus it's more challenging vocally."

"It certainly sounds like you made the right choice." He stated, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Erik?" I asked, my teeth had finally stopped chattering, and the warmth from Erik's body had managed to drive away most of the cold.

"Yes my dear?"

"Can I sleep now?" I yawned, burying my face in the pillow.

"Yes Christine, You can sleep now."

"Thank you," I whispered, and almost instantly I escaped into the world of dreams.

I awoke to light streaming into my windows; a quick glance at the clock told me it was 10:30 am. My stomach growled loudly, and I heaved myself out of bed, my limbs being very slow to respond. My entire body was stiff and tired.

As I trudged over to the closet to find some now clothes, I mulled over the events of the previous night in my mind.

Firstly, my escape had obviously been unsuccessful, and I was probably going to have to wait until it was warmer to try again. Secondly, I needed to get an idea of how far the woods around Erik's house went before I tried going through them again. Lastly, and most horrifying, was the fact that I had asked Erik to _hold me_ last night.

"You weren't in your right mind Christine," I justified to myself. "You had hypothermia, and he was warm… Nobody will judge you for that."

Sighing, I found a big sweatshirt and a pair of leggings in the back of the closet. Grateful for comfy clothes, I pulled them on, along with a pair of wool socks. I didn't know if it was simply the room, or last night's ordeal that caused it, but a chill lingered on my skin.

My stomach growled again as I left the closet, demanding food. I guess almost freezing to death took a lot of energy out of you.

Hesitantly, I walked toward the door and tried the nob, surprised that the door easily swung open. With another loud growl from my stomach, I crept downstairs to attempt to find the kitchen.

Assuming the kitchen would be down stairs, I walked down the long, narrow hallway to the stairway at the end of it. A large, spiral staircase led down to a completely open first floor, strange paintings decorating the walls. The first floor had a kind of strange elegance to it.

True to Erik's nature, black tile covered the entire floor, with only one silver throw rug in the middle of a little sitting area. A large piano sat in the corner of the room, a television and couches sitting directly opposite it. As soon as I reached the floor my eyes found the kitchen, and I made my way to it.

The kitchen was incredibly normal looking compared to the rest of the house, although the black tile covered the floor in that large room as well. There was a small table with only a single chair pushed into the corner of the room, but it looked as if it hadn't been used in a while.

A quick glance toward the door told me Erik was nowhere in sight, so I started looking through the pantry and fridge for something to eat.

After sifting through enough food to feed a small army, I finally found a carton of eggs tucked into the back of the fridge, along with a package of bacon. I pulled a couple frying pans out of a drawer full of brand-new pots and pans and put the pan of bacon on the stove to begin cooking.

After the bacon was nearly finished, I put the eggs into a different pan to fry and began trying to hunt down a plate and some utensils, humming as I searched. The plates were only in the second cupboard I opened, but I couldn't find the utensils no matter how hard I looked.

"Cutlery is in the far left drawer on the other side of the oven." Erik's voice came abruptly from behind me. I gasped in surprise, dropping the plate to the floor.

"I'm terribly sorry Christine," He apologized, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Because sneaking up behind people when they're obviously not paying attention isn't likely to do that at all." I muttered sarcastically.

"I didn't sneak up on you," He retorted, "I simply walked into the kitchen… You were the one not paying attention."

"Whatever." I said shortly, not really wanting to have an extended conversation with him. "Where's a broom so I can clean this up?"

"I'll fetch it for you." He smiled, "But you may want to get your breakfast off the stove first, or it's going to burn."

"Shit!" I exclaimed, frantically flipping the stove off and moving the pans to unused burners. Luckily, nothing was burnt too badly.

Erik returned moments later, wordlessly passing the broom to me so I could sweep up the shards of broken plate. He stood there, silently observing me, in the corner of the kitchen as I dumped the glass shards in the trash can and sat down at the small table to eat my only slightly burnt breakfast.

After a moment of awkwardly eating in silence as he stared at me, I practically threw my fork onto my plate. "Are you going to sit down, or eat, or do _something_?" I exclaimed angrily, glaring up at him. "Or do you plan on just staring at me creepily until I finish?"

He looked at me, surprise showing on his face for only a moment until his usual, emotionless mask shot back up. "What would you have me do Christine?"

"I don't know!" I said with exasperation, "Make some toast, watch tv, sit down and twiddle your thumbs for all I care, just don't stand there and stare at me."

"Okay," He said carefully, "I'm sorry if you find my staring peculiar… I am just trying to ensure that you are alright after the events of last night."

"Oh," I blushed, slightly embarrassed by my outburst. "I'm fine, thank you."

"You're not still chilled at all?" He asked with genuine concern.

"No,"

"Very good," He nodded to himself and turned toward the sitting room. "I'm just going to be in the next room if you need anything."

As I watched him walk away I saw he was walking with a very slight limp.

"Erik," I said without thinking, causing him to stop and turn toward me. "Why are you limping?"

"Oh, that," He said nonchalantly, "I just twisted my ankle slightly when I was carrying you in last night."

I didn't know what to say, so I simply nodded in response, proceeding to shovel more eggs into my mouth. After I had finished and put my dishes into the dishwasher, I wandered into the sitting room where Erik was sitting there reading. Even though I could feel his eyes follow me across the room, I wordlessly picked up _Dracula _from where it was sitting on the coffee table.

After we had both read in silence for a few minutes, I saw Erik stand up and walk toward me.

"Christine," He said politely, coming to a stop right in front of me. "If you would allow me, there is something I would like to show you."


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: **As promised, here is another update. I am in the middle of final exams right now, so the next one might take a little bit longer, but I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!

I stood up to stand in front of Christine, speaking as politely as possible. "Christine, if you would allow me, there is something I would like to show you."

She looked up from the book that she had obviously only been pretending to read, eyeing me with hesitancy. She tried to shrug nonchalantly, but her entire body was tense. "Sure."

She stood and trailed a few feet behind me as I led her down the long hall and into the music room. I opened the door and stopped partway through the doorway, turning to face her.

"This is the music room," I introduced it, stepping aside so she could step through the door. Awe showed immediately on her face, giving me great satisfaction. "There is a vast collection of pretty much any instrument you could desire, and if there is somehow something missing from my collection I would be happy to get it for you."

She nodded, walking past me to admire the grand piano and cello that sat in the center of the room, and continued walking around in silence, admiring all the instruments. She walked around for nearly five minutes, before coming to an abrupt halt in front of one particular instrument.

Whirling around, she looked at me with complete shock. "You brought my dad's violin here?"

I nodded silently, unsure of what her reaction was going to be. Would she be angry at me for taking it and bringing it here?

She turned away from me back toward the violin, running her hand through her hair. She began mumbling under her breath. "He took dad's violin from my house? I don't know if I should be creeped out or flattered…"

I smiled, but said nothing since she obviously hadn't meant for me to hear. Picking up the violin and turning it over, she began to inspect it, running her fingers all over it.

My curiosity finally got the better of me, and I walked up beside her. "What are you doing?"

She looked up at me quizzically. "Making sure you didn't hurt it, of course."

I raised my eyebrows at her, smiling slightly. She looked away from me to the violin, but a ghost of a smile danced across her face.

After she had deduced that I hadn't done anything to harm her father's violin, Christine walked over to the piano to examine the sheet music I had left on it.

"What is this for?" she asked, holding up the copy of _The Sound of Music_ I had put out for her.

"For us to continue your voice lessons of course." I stated simply, walking over to the piano and sitting down at the bench. "Now, you will start with some basic warm-up scales…"

"No." She cut me off, turning and walking away from the piano and toward the door.

"Excuse me?" I questioned, taken aback. Christine wouldn't sing?!

"I said no." She stated, turning to look at me, her jaw set.

"Christine," I said firmly, getting irritated at her unwillingness to sing. "If you don't sing your voice will…"

"I don't want to sing Erik!" She burst out, storming toward me. "I'm tired from everything last night and I want to go to bed!"

I stood up, unwilling to let her look down on me, and began staring at her coldly. "If you recall, the whole debacle last night was your fault, so pardon me if I'm not particularly sympathetic to you being tired because of it."

"My fault?!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

"Well I certainly didn't throw you out your bedroom window and tell you to run into the woods, now did I?" I spat back. Of course it was her fault!

"You're the one who took me here!" She yelled. "How could you not think I would try to escape?!"

"I took you here for your own good!" I exclaimed, my voice beginning to rise. How was it that she was able to get me so angry?!

"My own good, or your own good?!" She spat back at me, poking me in the chest to enunciate her point.

I grabbed her wrist before she had a chance to pull it away, more out of reflex than anything else.

"Let go of my hand." She growled, glaring at me with every bit of anger her sharp green eyes could convey.

I let go immediately, watching with slight confusion as she glared at me, her hands on her hips. Either I was mistaken, which rarely happened, or she was doing her best to intimidate me.

"Very well." I said tightly. "I understand you are tired, and you may have today off from singing. Meet me in this room at 10:00 am tomorrow, ready to rehearse."

"Fine." She said shortly, turning on her heel and stomping out the door, slamming it behind her.

As soon as she was out the door, I turned around and grabbed the sheet music off the piano, throwing it to the floor.

"Why does she have to be so damn difficult?!" I growled, pacing around the room in frustration. "I give her music, her father's violin, the opportunity to make her voice better, and she refuses everything!"

I flipped a stand over, scattering some saxophone music to the floor.

"Why can't she just let herself be happy here?!"

Nearly an hour later, after I had calmed myself down, I picked up all the stands I had thrown down as I passed them, placing the sheet music neatly back on them. Making sure my mask was properly on my face, I strode out of the room and into the kitchen to make some lunch.

I was about to walk through into the room when I heard singing coming through the door.

"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away!"

I peeked through the door, surprised to see Christine singing the ridiculous pop song, dancing elaborately around the kitchen as she made a sandwich. She picked up the butter knife she had in her hand, holding it in front of her like a microphone.

"Shoot me down, but I won't fall! I am titanium! Shoot me down, but I won't fall! I am titanium!" Then she began shaking her hips provocatively, dancing around the kitchen while humming the guitar part, and singing the vocals when they came around.

I held back an amused snicker, enjoying watching her simply enjoy herself when she thought I wasn't watching.

After she reached the end of her "performance" I strode into the room as if I hadn't seen anything.

"What are you doing down here?" I asked casually, trying to make a conversation.

"Making a sandwich… Do you have a problem with that?" She said defensively.

"Of course not." I stated, "I merely assumed you would be in your room."

"Well, I was hungry." She muttered.

"You are welcome to go anywhere in the house, with the exception of my bedroom." I responded, grabbing something to make myself some food.

"Don't worry," She muttered, when her back was turned to me. "Learned that lesson the first time around."

I grimaced, the painful memory of that morning coming to the forefront of my mind.

I watched Christine out of the corner of my eye as she sat down on the couch and began to flick through television channels. Seeing that she seemed to be content, I continued to make my meal, humming to myself as I grabbed things out of the pantry.

"Oh my gosh!" I heard a startled gasp come from the other room, and I quickly ran in to see what was wrong.

"Christine! What…" I exclaimed, stopping dead in my tracks as I saw what was on the screen.

"Oh my gosh." She whispered again, clasping her hand to her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes.

Christine's laughing face lit up the screen, next to a solemn looking reporter, along with Raoul and Meg.

"The search continues for Christine Daae, a nineteen year old girl who was kidnapped from the annual de Chagny masquerade ball on Friday." The reporter spoke in a solemn, monotone voice.

Christine's beautiful face was replaced with the security footage of the night I took her; the look of terror on her face as she struggled against me was an image I would never be able to evict from my memory. Then the footage showed me when I put the gun to her lovely curls, and the look of horror on Christine's face as she realized what her angel of music was doing…

A sob from the couch interrupted my thoughts and I looked to see Christine sobbing, but still not looking away from the screen.

"Christine…" I tried to console her, but she wouldn't even look at me.

"Don't speak to me." She whispered, not harshly, just with terrible sorrow.

"Here with us today, we have Raoul de Chagny, Christine Daae's boyfriend, as well as the young girl's friend, Meg Giry." The reporter interrupted the tape, turning to face Raoul and Meg.

"I understand you have something you would like to share with us Mr. de Chagny?" The reporter prompted gently.

"Yes I do." Raoul nodded slowly, facing the reporter. "My family is offering a large cash reward for any legitimate information about Christine's whereabouts, as well as a reward of unimaginable magnitude if anybody can return her safely to us."

Slowly, he turned away from the camera to face the screen directly. I looked over to see Christine kneeling on the floor in front of the screen, touching her fingers to the side of the image of Raoul's face. Jealousy reared up inside me as I watched her, as well anger at the fop for being able to have this kind of effect on her even when he was nowhere near her.

"Christine, if you are somehow watching this, I want you to know that I love you, and will never stop looking for you as long as I live. Be brave Chris… You are the single most amazing woman I have ever met, and I know you can make it through this."

The camera turned to where Meg was sitting next to Raoul, crying uncontrollably. "I l-love you Chris." She sobbed, frantically dabbing at her eyes.

"Y-you're the best f-friend anyone could ask f-for. Stay s-strong… We'll f-find you!"

The camera slowly panned back to Raoul as one of the crew members passed Meg a tissue.

"And as for the person holding Christine captive." Raoul began in a much stronger voice. "We beg you to return Christine to us unharmed."

"Please!" Meg begged, still crying.

"And know this," Raoul continued, resting a hand consolingly on Meg's shoulder. "If you choose not to do the right thing and return her, we will find you, and you will answer for your crimes to the full extent of the law. I promise you this."

"There it is ladies and gentleman." The camera turned back to the reporter, who had a very sad look on her face. "If anybody has any information about Ms. Daae's whereabouts, the number to call is at the bottom right-hand side of the screen. For more information about how you may be able to help, please call the number on the left. More updates will be made as the information becomes available. We now transfer to Bryan, who is onsite at a huge traffic pile up on Broadway."

I grabbed the remote and clicked the screen off, turning to where Christine was still kneeling on the floor, her arms wrapped around herself. Slowly, she turned and looked up at me, her eyes still wet with unshed tears, and tear tracks still moist on her face.

"You have to take me back." She whispered, pleading with me.

"I'm afraid that would be impossible." I said, my voice sounding as removed as I could make it. I was trying to hide how much seeing her like this felt like a knife in my heart.

"Please!" She cried, scurrying in front of me, and grabbing onto my jacket without even standing up.

"Please," She sobbed, on her knees begging. "Erik… Angel… Please take me back."

"I can't Christine." I spoke coldly, resisting every impulse I had to take her into my arms and hold her until the pain evaporated. As it was, I stepped away, forcing her to release my jacket.

"At least let me call them so they know I'm okay!" She cried, holding her hands out in front of her. "I don't even know where I am… What harm could it do?!"

"No."

"Let me call Meg then." She pleaded one more time, not willing to give up. "Did you see her on that screen Erik? She thinks I'm hurt, or d-dead… D-did you see the way she cried?"

Christine dissolved into tears, bending over and pulling her arms even tighter around herself as if seeing her friend like this caused her physical pain.

"I'm sorry Christine," I said softly, but with no emotion. "But I'm afraid you cannot do any of those things."

A sharp cry escaped her lungs, and she curled into a ball rocking back and forth as she completely fell apart.

Unable to resist any longer, I placed a hand on her shoulder, needing to do something, anything, to make her stop feeling like this.

"D-don't touch me!" She sobbed, trying to sound forceful, but it came out sounding completely broken and utterly defeated. "G-go away… P-please."

Without another word, I turned away from her and silently walked toward my room. As soon as I was out of her line of sight, I quickened my pace, practically fleeing to the shelter of my safe haven. There was no way I could let her see the tears that had silently begun to stream down my cheeks.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: **Here's another update… Sorry for the long wait! I'm working at day camps all summer for young children, and it's leaving me pretty tired by the time I get home. I hope you enjoy, and I apologise for any mistakes… Please review!

I sat on the floor of the living room, crying uncontrollably for what seemed like hours. By the time I finally managed to control my sobbing, and muster the strength to look up at the clock, it was midnight. The ache in my heart was replaced by a weird numb sensation, as if my brain had shut off my capacity to feel.

Wordlessly, I stood and walked to the front door, throwing it open and reveling in the feeling of cold air washing over me. I wasn't planning on running away again; it simply felt glorious to feel the chill of the wind on my skin.

"Christine!" I heard Erik yell frantically, his footsteps nearly soundless as he ran downstairs. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm not running away… I'm not stupid." I spoke softly, my voice hollow. "I was just feeling too warm."

"Why don't you come back inside?" He coaxed gently, standing close behind me but not touching me.

I nodded, stepping back so he could close the door.

"Are you hungry, or thirsty?" He asked tentatively. I simply shook my head, not really feeling like talking.

"I'm just tired." I whispered, turning and heading up the stairs without another look at him.

I entered my room, closing the door softly behind me. I was mentally exhausted, and yet, I had no desire to sleep. Every time I stopped thinking about something, I saw Meg and Raoul's faces on the TV screen.

Attempting to keep my mind occupied, I began searching rifling through all the desks and drawers in the room. As I had already noticed, the closet had enough clothing in it to clothe all the homeless people in New York, with shoes and accessories for every occasion you could imagine. What really made me feel weird was the fact that everything was exactly the right size and style for me.

A small desk sat in the corner of the room, full of notebooks, stationary and other pens and pencils. A bookshelf on the same wall was completely full of books, most of them classics. I nearly smiled when I saw _Pride and Prejudice_ amongst the volumes, along with an old copy of _Beauty and the Beast._

I walked through a door along the same wall as the closet, and stepped into an ornately decorated bathroom. A large, claw foot tub stood in one corner, with a shower opposite of it. Beautiful tiles covered the floor, and lined the top half of the wall. I turned on the bath, allowing the water to be as hot as I could stand, and then climbed in when the tub was nearly spilling over.

The hot water felt good after the burst of cold. I lay in the tub for nearly an hour and half, simply thinking about everything aside from Meg and Raoul, trying desperately to keep my mind occupied. By the time I finally got out, the water was freezing cold, and my skin was shriveled up like a prune. After drying off, I pulled on the silk robe hanging in the bathroom and walked into the bedroom.

Not wanting to risk the nightmares that would inevitably come with sleep, I pulled a book off the shelf and curled up on the armchair to read. I grabbed one of the old volumes of Sherlock Holmes Erik had placed on my bookshelf, surprised that there was one up there that I hadn't read. I was even more surprised when I delicately flipped the yellowing pages to the copyright page, to see the publication read 1892… It was an original copy!

I devoured the book quickly, grabbing another volume off the shelf as soon as I was finished. The world of Sherlock Holmes was appealing; one where Holmes always solved the mystery, and the villains never got away completely unscathed.

I didn't even remember dozing off, but I must have at some point in the night, because my mind was assaulted with a vicious nightmare.

_I'm sitting alone on my couch in the house my papa and I lived in, reading one of my favourite novels. I hear footsteps enter the room, and I turn, eager to share the book with my father._

_ However, it's not my father standing in the doorway to the sitting room, its Erik, clothed all in black, a black hat nearly shadowing out his entire face. _

_ "Hello Christine," He smiles coldly, and takes a slow step toward me. _

_ "Erik?" I exclaim in surprise, standing up and dropping my book to the floor. "What are you doing here?" _

_ "I just had something to drop off for you." He smiles again, but there is no warmth in the gesture. _

_ I look past him to see my father standing in the kitchen, a bright light behind him._

_ "Papa!" I exclaim, running to him and throwing my arms around him. _

_ "You have grown to be so beautiful Christine." He smiles, looking at me with tenderness in his eyes. "I only wish I could be around to see you."_

_ A tear slides down my cheek. "I love you papa." _

_ "I love you too Christine." My father says as he seems to evaporate into the light. I turn around to see if Erik is still present, but Buquet is standing in front of me, breathing his foul breath into my face. _

_ "Hello Christine." He sneers, wrapping his hands around my throat. _

_ "Erik!" I scream with all the breath I can gather as he's choking me. _

_ However, when I turn to see Erik he has Meg and Raoul in his arms, both of them unconscious. "I'm sorry Christine, but I'm afraid I'm otherwise occupied." He laughs coldly, turning and dragging Raoul and Meg's unresponsive bodies through the doors. _

_ "Looks like it's just you and me dearie." Buquet sneers as he leans closer unto my face…_

_ "ERIK!" I scream with my final breath of air, clawing weakly at Buquet's hand. _

_ But suddenly the entire scene changes, and it's not Buquet squeezing the life from me, it's Erik's dark face I see staring at me. _

_ He leans down and whispers something softly into my ear, his voice full of malice. "I'm here my dear… The angel of death." _

"Christine," Erik's voice called softly, "It is time for you to wake up my dear."

Startled out of my nightmare, I woke up to see Erik only a few feet from me. Still living in the world of my nightmare, I screamed and panicked, knocking the armchair over backwards in my haste to get away from him.

"Christine!" He exclaimed, completely caught by surprise.

I broke out of my nightmare, completely dissolving into tears as I remembered what had happened in the dream.

"I-I… You… Buquet…" I was crying so hard I couldn't even form coherent sentences. "And then M-Meg and Raoul… And you just… A-and then he… A-and then y-you… A-and…"

"Shhhhhhh," Erik soothed, sitting next to me and rubbing circles on my back as I cried. "It was just a nightmare Christine."

"I-it was so real." I sobbed. "H-he choked me, and…"

"Christine," Erik's said firmly, but still gently. "Buquet can't hurt you. You are safe here."

"B-but then y-you choked m-me too… Y-you s-said you were the a-angel of death, and then y-you choked m-me…"I buried my face in my knees again, unable to stop crying.

He gently place his finger under my chin and lifted my face up to meet his eyes. He spoke solemnly, and his eyes had an extremely gentle quality to them. "Christine, I would never hurt you."

"Do you know something Erik?" I whispered, managing to stop my sobs. "I think I believe you."

He nodded slowly, looking like he was pondering something. "Buquet can't touch you here either."

"I know that," I nodded. "It was just so terrifying."

"I understand," He said softly, with something that sounded a lot like… empathy?

"Why did you even wake me up?" I mumbled, just wanting to change the subject. I couldn't let myself get close to Erik… He kidnapped me, and took me to this place. He was the enemy.

"You were to meet me for singing lessons at 9:00 am… It is 9:00 now." He said a little bit louder, a hint of a chuckle in his voice.

"I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I'm too tired to sing." I grumbled, silently begging him to go away.

"That is not my problem." Erik spoke, his voice hard. He stood up and pulled the curtains open so sunlight blinded me. "Be downstairs in the music room in half an hour, or I shall come up here and carry you downstairs myself."

I sat up, glaring at him through puffy eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

He smirked at me, but there was lighthearted humour behind the gesture. "If you believe that, you underestimate me my dear."

He turned and walked out of the room, and I threw a throw pillow at the door behind him as he left. How dare that bastard order me around like he actually had some authority over me!

I stood up and stormed over to the closet, throwing the doors open hard and pulling on the first pairs of jeans and shirt I found. One glance in the mirror said that I wasn't going to be able to do anything with my unruly hair after sleeping in a chair all night, so I hastily pulled it up into a haphazard bun.

I hurried out of my bedroom and downstairs to the music room… If he thought he could order me around, I was going to make him regret it.

I burst into the room to see Erik already sitting at the piano, looking at me with an attentive, yet detached look on his face. I stood next to the piano, and he turned away from me, poising his fingers over the keys.

"F major scale." He stated, pressing the opening note on the piano. We had worked on the difficult scale nearly every lesson since I had met Erik, and I could sing it particularly well. This time however, every note I sang was flat.

"Again." He said angrily, hammering the first note of the scale again. This time, I sang every note sharp.

"Again!" He growled, not even bothering to hit the note on the piano. As I sang the entire scale again with a mix of flats and sharps, his hands clenched and unclenched in anger.

"Is there any particular reason you are deciding to sing like a dying cow?" He snarled, glaring at me as I stood there smugly.

"I'm sorry," I said sweetly, "Did I sing it wrong?"

"Don't play childish games Christine." He spat.

"It's your fault for being completely unsympathetic to my entire situation!" I shot back, refusing to back down.

"I don't give a damn about whatever emotions are making you choose to act so stupidly!" He yelled, slamming his hands on the piano angrily.

Fear began to start swirling in my stomach, I knew as well as anybody how stupid it was to get Erik worked up, but at this point the rage clouding my vision overpowered the fear.

"I know you don't give a shit about me!" I yelled, stepping toward him so I could look down on him. "You want me to sing?! Fine! Find me a song about a girl who is ripped from her life and everything she loves, and forced to stay with a man who is so emotionally detached from the world that she doubts he's even human! If you find me a song like that, I'll gladly sing it for you Erik."

I glared down at him, wanting him to yell something back at him so I could continue to argue with him and be angry at him.

"And furthermore…" I screamed, but Erik cut me off.

"I never said I didn't care." He spoke softly, looking me in the eyes. His facial expression had softened, and for a moment he almost looked sad.

"I don't give a damn about whatever emotions are making you choose to act so stupidly?" I quoted back at him, crossing my arms as I awaited his explanation.

"If you analyzed those words more carefully, I believe you would find they were said more out of reaction to the actions you made, than a reflection of my true feelings." He spoke carefully, obviously not wanting to upset me. "Please do not mistake my frustration with your actions for not actually caring about your well-being. I apologise that I said that… I did not mean it."

I stood there for a moment, shocked that he had actually given me an apology. I had planned to be unbearably frustrating, yell at him, have him yell back at me, and then storm away to my room… An apology had never been part of the equation.

"Fine," I muttered, grabbing the sheet music off the music stand in front of me. I looked at the title of the song, surprised that I didn't recognize the piece at all. "What is this from?"

"It's one of my original pieces." He smiled. "I thought we would start with something difficult so you didn't think I was taking it easy on you."

Despite my best efforts, the corner of my mouth pulled into a slight smile. I should have recognized Erik's handwriting in the title; _Masquerade _was written in his elegant script.

Without any more warning, he began playing the very short piano introduction. The melody was relatively simplistic in terms of rhythms, but the notes and emotions within the song were much trickier.

"_Masquerade, paper faces on parade… Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you…" _I sang with him on the piano, but he stopped me.

"The last note was flat… Try again, and clearer enunciation this time." He instructed, starting to play the piano again.

I hadn't sang in a while, and we stopped so often that I had barely finished half the song when my stomach began growling for lunch. I had forgotten how demanding music lessons with Erik were.

"Would you like to be finished for today?" He asked softly, turning away from the piano to face me.

"Yes." I said firmly, turning and walking out of the room and into the kitchen to make some food. Erik came in a few minutes later, wordlessly making himself something to eat as well. I grabbed my food and took it to the sitting room, not wanting to awkwardly sit at the table by myself, or awkwardly sit at the small table with Erik.

"I have something to offer you Christine." He said, seating on the opposite side of the couch from me.

"And what is that?" I questioned, curious about what Erik could possibly be giving me.

"I was wondering if in addition to your singing lessons, you would perhaps like to learn another instrument?" He asked casually, but for some reason he seemed slightly nervous.

"I would love that." I smiled at him, happily surprised at the offer. "Do I get to pick which one?"

He nodded. "You may have today to think about it, and then you can let me know which one you want to learn at your singing lesson tomorrow."

"Thank you." I said, taking a bite out of my lunch.

Erik and I sat there eating in awkward silence for nearly five minutes, neither of us knowing what to say to the other anymore.

"Well," Erik spoke awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Would you perhaps like to watch a movie?"

"Sure." I shrugged, kneeling in front of Erik's DVD collection to pick something out. I began flicking through DVD's, finding some familiar titles. _Dead Poet's Society, Saving Private Ryan, Les Miserables, The Green Mile, Schindler's List, Braveheart… _After going through half the shelf, I turned to Erik.

"Good Lord Erik, don't you have anything, you know… Happy?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "There may be a few happy ones tucked into the back corner of the bottom shelf."

After searching for nearly ten minutes, I found _Forrest Gump _tucked into the back corner of his shelf, behind another row of movies.

"Let's watch this one!" I exclaimed, putting the DVD in the player. I sat down on the opposite side of the couch from Erik, a smile on my face. _Forrest Gump _was one of my favourite movies, but a quick glance at Erik told me that he didn't enjoy the film as much as I did.

"Do you not like this one?" I asked tentatively as the movie began to play. "We can watch something else if you want…"

"It's fine." He smiled, "We can watch whatever you wish."

I nodded, turning back to the screen so I didn't miss the beginning. About fifteen minutes later I turned back to Erik, unable to stand the face of disdain he was making at the screen.

"Okay." I said loudly, pausing the movie and moving closer to him on the couch so I could speak to him more easily. "What is your problem with this movie?"

"It's just not one of my favourites." He spoke quickly, slightly taken aback.

"But why?" I pressed, not letting him escape the question that easily.

"It's just so unrealistic." He explained. "There is no possible way somebody who had been through as much as Forrest would ever remain that optimistic about the world… His best friend and love of his life died, and he is still so damn happy all the time!"

I looked at him skeptically. "So you don't like the movie because Forrest is optimistic about things?"

"Well, among other things." He retorted.

"Believe it or not, it is possible for people to be happy even after something traumatic has happened in their life." I spoke softly, thinking of my own status as an orphan.

For once Erik was silent, but it only took him a moment before he responded in a voice so soft I could barely hear it.

"Unfortunately, not everybody has that ability Christine."


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: **I hope you guys appreciate this chapter… Because it was incredibly frustrating to get it finished. I actually had the whole thing completely finished yesterday, and just after I exited the chapter to go post it, I somehow accidentally replaced it with Word's autosaved copy… which was only the first 1300 words, whereas my completed chapter was 3500… I still don't know how this happened, but since I was working off my flashdrive (I couldn't use my regular computer) I was unable to recover anything… So I was left with about the first third of my completed chapter. I then spent a substantial amount of time today, completely rewriting the entire thing from memory.

Needless to say, it has been a frustrating couple days.

Anyways, the crime ring is talked about again in this one, and since I haven't mentioned them in a while, I thought I would give you guys a quick recap of who's who in the crime ring:

-Bones: The brains of the operation

-Rasputin: The one with connection

-Hades: The organizer (Kind of the head of the operation)

-Barnabas: The muscles

(And of course you all know who Phantom is!)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy… And do you think I could maybe get some extra reviews for my troubles?

Christine was obviously as tired as she told me she was, because after about half the movie, she was fast asleep. I turned off the film, not wanting to disturb her slumber. Her face had taken on a peaceful serenity that I hadn't seen on her face since I had taken her here, and she looked so small and helpless curled up into a ball on the sofa.

After watching her for a few moments, I scooped her up into my arms and soundlessly carried her up to her bedroom. She didn't even stir as I carried her up the stairs and placed her comfortably on the bed, pulling the covers over her petite frame. I stood there for another few moments, content to simply watch her, as I wondered what I would do for the rest of the day.

A quick glance at my pocket watch told me it was only 2:00, but by the way Christine was sleeping I seriously doubted she would be awake any time before nightfall. Stealing one final glance at her, I turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind me.

I walked quickly to my bedroom, deciding if I wanted to work on one of my paintings or sketches for the remainder of the day, when I was interrupted by my phone ringing in my pocket. One glance at the caller ID told me who it was, and I answered quickly.

"I know it was you who took her Erik." Nadir's voice stated sharply from the other end.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." I mocked, already knowing Nadir would have figured out it was me… A man like Nadir Khan never forgot any details of a conversation.

"Don't be stupid Erik." He spoke, his voice hard. "What are you doing, kidnapping an innocent girl?"

"I don't believe that's any of your business Nadir." I spoke coldly, closing my bedroom door behind me as I entered my chamber.

"You and I both know how dangerous it is for the girl to be the focus of your obsession Erik." He spoke firmly, refusing to back down to me. "Have you even thought of the danger you could have put her in by taking her? What with all the crime lords and operations that have tabs on you…"

"Do you think me incompetent Nadir?" I spat back at him. "Of course I took the necessary precautions to ensure we will not be found."

"Oh yes, because putting a gun to her head at the de Chagny party was exactly the type of discrepancy that would allow you to slip away unnoticed."

I involuntarily cringed, happy Nadir wasn't there to see it. "She forced my hand."

"Of course, by ripping your mask off…" Nadir mocked, and I could visualize his smirk on the other end of the phone. "A nineteen year old girl forced the hand of Erik Destler."

"Do not mock me Nadir." I spoke viciously.

"And what of your crime operations Erik?" Nadir questioned logically, ignoring my attempt to scare him… I should have known that Nadir was above being scared or intimidated by me. "How will you carry out those duties now that you've disappeared with a girl? A girl that your crime ring practically tried to dispose of I might add."

"I'm done with them Nadir." I spoke softly, allowing the words to sink in. Without thinking, I wandered down the hallway and toward Christine's room, for some reason needing to be near her as I told Nadir my decision.

When I had first decided to take Christine, I had made the decision to stop any connection I had with the crime ring. Christine deserved an honest man, and as much as I couldn't undo my past, I was going to strive to be just that.

"What?!" He exclaimed, and I smiled, happy that I had caught him off-guard.

"You heard me correctly." I said, "I am stopping all connections I have with the crime ring… I am going to be an honest man."

"Erik," Nadir spoke plainly, "You are no honest man."

"I _was_ no honest man… But I am going to try to be the type of man Christine deserves, and that means no longer being a crime lord. I have a substantial amount of money in reserves, and if I run out I will simply compose or go back to being an architect." I responded.

"Erik," Nadir spoke cautiously, as if he was afraid I wouldn't like what he was about to say. "Have you considered the fact that Christine might not want a life with you? She is only nineteen, a mere child in the scope of her life… And you have taken her against her will. Have you even deemed it necessary to consider the fact that she may have been happy with the de Chagny boy?"

I was silent for a moment, sorrow bubbling in my heart as Nadir voiced my deepest concerns. However, despite all the emotions coursing through me at his comment, I kept my tone even as I responded.

"Of course I have considered them." I said evenly and firmly, not a hint of emotion in my voice. "But she _is _mine."

"Excuse me?!" Christine's voice exclaimed from behind me.

Nadir chuckled darkly from the phone. "Did Christine just hear your comment Erik? Could luck talking yourself out of this one…" I hung up on him, just as Christine stormed up to me.

"Christine, what are you doing awake?" I questioned, trying desperately to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Nightmare," She muttered so low I could barely hear her, but quickly spoke louder, fire in her eyes. "The real question is why are _you_ talking about me like a possession?!"

"What exactly did you hear?" I asked, controlling my voice so as not to show the fear I was feeling. If she had heard the part about the crime I was involved in…

"Only the part where you said 'She is mine'!" She spat, and I nearly sighed with relief.

"Christine, I'm so…" I began, but she didn't let me finish.

"Let me explain something to you Erik." She growled, pushing my chest. The strength of the push startled me, and she exactly managed to make me take a step backwards. "I am a woman, not a thing… And I am certainly NOBODY'S possession! You may have taken me here against my will, but I do not in any way, BELONG to you!"

"Christine, I believe you misunderstood me." I interjected, struggling to stay calm.

"Go ahead and explain what you meant then Erik." She snarled, crossing her arms in front of her and tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm waiting."

"I was merely telling another man that I had a claim on you, so he shouldn't even try to…" I was interrupted by Christine's hand slapping me across the unmasked side of my face. I looked down in shock to see Christine standing a mere few inches from my chest, her fiery eyes boring into mine.

"You have no right to stake a claim on me." She hissed. "Despite what you may believe, I am not _yours _Erik."

She turned on her heel, stomping into the bedroom and yelling at me over her shoulder. "Feel free to come talk to me once you've gotten your head out of your ass!"

I stood there in shock, still processing what had just happened. I heard laughing coming from my pocket, and pulled my phone out, realizing I hadn't hung up properly… Nadir had heard the entire thing.

"Stop your laughing Nadir." I growled at him.

He just started laughing harder. "I see why you like her Erik… Her temper is almost as bad as yours!"

"I said shut up…" I warned.

"Was that loud sound her _smacking _you? Did the girl actually have the courage to hit you Erik?! I must say, I'm impressed…" He continued laughing uncontrollably.

"Nadir…" I threatened, but we both knew I couldn't really scare Nadir anymore.

"Good luck Erik… Feel free to come talk to me once you've gotten your head out of your ass…" He chuckled, trying his best to quiet his laughter.

This time I ensured I hung up properly.

I walked quickly to the door of Christine's room and knocked hesitantly, not wanting to anger her further.

"Christine…" I started, beginning to apologise.

"Go away Erik." She yelled harshly, not even letting me finish.

"If you would allow me to explain…" I began again, trying not to let my frustration show through… Why wouldn't she let me apologise to her?!

"I don't want to talk to you!" She screamed, once again not letting me finish.

I took a couple calming breaths, clenching and unclenching my fists so my frustration didn't come through my voice. "Please Christine…"

"Seriously Erik, piss off!" She shrieked, and I turned and stormed away from the room, practically running downstairs to the music room.

I paced angrily around the room, trying to contain my anger at her… I was trying. I was trying so damn hard to be a gentleman, and apologise when I did something wrong; but she was being so damn difficult!

"Why do you do this to me Christine?" I growled under my breath… It seemed like every time I made a mistake she pounced on it, no matter how hard I was trying to make myself a better man for her.

My emotions were welling up in me to the point where I felt as if I was going to explode, so I sat down at the piano, my hands poised over the keys to allow the music to flow through me.

However, I didn't even have an opportunity to hit one note when my phone began to ring again.

"Damn you Nadir!" I cursed, hammering hard on the keys before I reached for my phone. If he was calling to mock me further…

However, a quick glance at the caller ID told me that it wasn't Nadir who was calling.

"What?" I growled into the phone, not at all in the mood to deal with Hades' chatter.

"Someone's a little temperamental today!" Hades chuckled into the phone.

"I assume you didn't call to chat." I spoke harshly, wanting nothing more than to end the conversation.

"You haven't been very good, have you Phantom?" He chastised me mockingly.

"We are part of a crime ring Hades… None of us have been very good as of late." I retorted sarcastically, hoping to wipe off the silly grin I knew he was wearing.

"You missed the heist Phantom."

"My time was otherwise occupied." I said coolly.

"Oh yes… By kidnapping the Daae girl." He responded, his tone questioning.

"That is none of your business Hades." I said firmly, trying to close the subject.

"But it is… Tell me Phantom, why was kidnapping a young girl more important than one of our biggest heists of the year? The heist failed by the way, since you weren't there to complete your role… ten of our men were arrested, and the only reason none of us were compromised is because the ten that were caught had never actually met us." He said loudly, and I could hear the anger rising up in his voice.

Well, it was now or never.

"Hades," I said firmly, ensuring I had his attention. "I want out."

"WHAT?!" He spluttered, and I nearly laughed at his reaction… It was even better than Nadir's had been!

"I want out." I repeated again slowly, although I knew he had heard me the first time.

"You can't just leave us Phantom." He hissed, trying desperately to scare me… But I was above fear. Nothing he could do to me could be worse than things I had already suffered. "Not after all these years of us working together… We are some of the most powerful crime lords in America right now!"

"Oh stop with your fake sentimentality." I stated, my voice void of emotion. "The only reason you are even upset that I am leaving is because you need me for your little operation to continue… Face it Hades, you would be lost without me."

"When I find you…" He growled, but I swiftly cut him off.

"We are beyond where your dim-witted thugs can find us." I spoke firmly, intending to anger him further and end the conversation.

Instead he laughed.

"We?" He chuckled. "We? This is all for that Daae girl isn't it!"

I felt my stomach drop as I realized my error. I hastily tried to correct myself, but I feared the damage had already been done. "I can assure you…"

"The mighty and powerful Phantom is leaving his life of crime for a nineteen year old girl!" He chortled, anger swelling up inside me.

"You are being ridiculous Hades." I scoffed, struggling to keep my voice emotionless.

"Oh am I?" He questioned harshly, his laughter abruptly extinguishing. "You only say that because I'm right… You are trying to become an honest man for your beautiful lady love!"

I was silent, allowing him to mock me while I awaited the right moment to interject.

"Oh, but you aren't an honest man Phantom." I chuckled darkly. "If little Miss Daae knew everything your past contained, do you think she would look at you with anything but fear? Aside from your actions, do you think she could ever bear to look on your face? The whole world saw your disfigurement that day Phantom, and I can assure you a lovely little thing like Miss Daae would never be able to return your monstrous affection."

"She is not a thing." I growled without thinking, trying not to let him show how true each of his statements were.

"But she is Phantom." He snarled back at me. "By making her the object of your obsession, you have just made her a pawn in this game… And a very valuable one at that."

I didn't respond, afraid I would be unable to keep my emotions from my voice. I may have been above fear for my own safety, but fear for the safety of Christine was a different matter.

"When I find you – And please note that I said when, not if – I will rip her away from you and take her even farther from everything she ever held dear. After I'm finished with her, I will give her to any of my men I see fit… I know Buquet might want to finish what he started." He chuckled darkly, rage filling me so completely that I barely heard what he said.

"And the best part about everything, is that it will be _entirely your fault_."

He let the phrase hang in silence for a moment, before abruptly disconnecting the line.

I sat there for only a moment, my mind running over what had just happened, before leaping up and springing into action.

I whipped out my phone and dialed Nadir. He answered on the first ring.

"Yes?" He said casually.

"I need you to keep tabs on Hades, Bones, Rasputin and Buquet… I need to know if they say or do anything that could at all relate to me or Christine. Keep an eye on Barnabas as well, but he won't be a danger to us unless we're found."

"Done." He said quickly, "But I will require an explanation when you have time."

"Thank you."

I hung up the phone and walked over to the controls for the complex alarm system I had personally installed on the house and the surrounding woods… If anybody set foot on the land, I would know about it. I ensured that everything was armed properly, including the components I usually only armed at night.

As I made my way upstairs, I ran over a mental checklist of every security measure I had taken: _Switched vehicles on the way here… No way they could trace that; security system armed; Christine's phone destroyed; my phone untraceable…_

I came to a halt in front of Christine's door, staring at it as I finished my checklist. Unfortunately, in order to properly ensure her safety, I had to get her to speak to me.

I knocked hesitantly, afraid of her response. "Christine, would you please allow me to apologise?"

The door slowly opened and Christine stood there, looking up at me expectantly.

I took a step through the door so she couldn't close it in my face, and began my apology.

"Christine, I am incredibly sorry for insulting you in that way… You are not an object, and I had no right to refer to you that way."

She stood there in silence, not meeting my eyes, and I began to panic slightly… Had I not said enough?

"You are not a 'thing' to me Christine…" I reaffirmed, and then began to ramble. "You are a strong, independent woman with the voice of an angel, and I never meant to demean you in any way, it's just that... Sometimes I am possessive Christine, as much as I try not to be… I know you do not belong to me."

She placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping my rambling. She smiled up at me softly, her eyes looking directly into mine. "I forgive you Erik."

"Thank you my dear." I smiled back at her, but she took a step away from me.

"However," She stated, putting her hands on her hips, "I know that something serious must be happening for you to feel a need to 'stake a claim' on me, and I would very much like to know what it is."

"Nothing is going on…" I began, but she silenced me with a glare.

"I'm not stupid Erik." She said harshly, turning her back to me. "Don't insult my intelligence by trying to tell me that there's nothing going on."

I stood in silence for a moment, pondering what I should tell her. I didn't want to reveal any information on Nadir… She may see him as an escape route. And I couldn't reveal the crime ring's search for her without implicating my role in their activities… After a few moments I settled on telling her that Buquet was searching for her. It wasn't a complete lie, it was merely switching people around a little bit. If she knew somebody was looking for her, it might make her act with more caution.

I motioned for her to sit on the small sofa in her room, and she eagerly complied. I sat down next to her, turning to face her so I could gauge her reaction.

"Some sources in the city have revealed to me that Joseph Buquet is beginning to search for you Christine… And I am uncertain as to what his purpose is." I stated calmly, my eyes never leaving hers.

Her eyes widened in fear, but she quickly tried to hide it. "But he can't find us, right?"

I hid my excitement at her use of the word "us," and responded confidently. "No, he cannot."

She nodded, but she stood up and began to pace nervously, wringing her hands when her back was to me and she thought I couldn't see.

After a few moments of her walking back and forth I couldn't take seeing her like that anymore, so I stood up and gently place my hands on her shoulders to stop her.

She looked down at the floor, not meeting my gaze. Then she whispered in a voice so low I could barely hear it. "I'm terrified of him Erik."

And she began to sob, terrified cries escaping her throat. Without thinking, I pulled her into my arms, my embrace an iron cage protecting her from the world. She wrapped her arms tightly around my waist as she cried, burying her face in my shirt.

"My dear," I spoke softly. "Joseph Buquet will not touch you while you are under my protection."

When that seemed to do nothing to soothe her, I pulled away from her slightly so I could look her in the eyes.

"Christine," I spoke firmly, my gaze boring into hers. "I will not let anybody on this Earth hurt you… You are safe here."

She nodded and wiped the tears out of her eyes, her small smile giving me all the thanks I needed. I turned to walk out of the room, knowing that she would need some time alone to process the information I had given her.

However, when I reached the doorway I came to a halt, turning around slowly as anxiety swirled in my stomach.

"Christine," I spoke slowly. "I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner this evening?"

She looked at me quizzically. "I ate dinner with you last night Erik."

"Sorry, I should have been more clear…" I muttered. "I was wondering if you would like to join me for a formal dinner tonight at 7:00 in the dining room?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then looked up at me with a smile. She spoke slowly, as if pondering her response. "I think… I think I would like that a lot."

I grinned back at her, simply giving her a nod as I turned and strode out of the room. I was unable to keep a smile from my face as I began to make all the necessary preparations.


End file.
